Last month, Governor Newsom signed a bill (SB 1053) that will finally ban all single use plastic bags from checkout counters at stores in California. This is great news for the Bay and the entire California coast!   

Single-use plastic shopping bags remain one of the most common, and most harmful, sources of plastic trash pollution along the shoreline. Wildlife ingest them, and can get tangled in or choke on them. The bags themselves deteriorate into smaller pieces that contribute to toxic microplastic pollution in the Bay. And they are a persistent blight along our beaches and shoreline trails.  

Save The Bay started working to restrict the use of these unnecessary plastic bags back in 2007. At the time this was a new idea, and we knew that we would have to build awareness both among elected officials and the public to be successful.

So, we started local and supported some of the first efforts by cities and counties to pass ordinances, including in San Jose and Alameda County. 

As awareness and interest in banning these bags increased, the movement’s next destination became Sacramento, employing some highly creative methods to capture attention.

There we advocated for the state’s first attempt at a statewide ban back in 2014 (SB 270). That bill was an important step because it showed widespread support to reduce our reliance on unnecessary plastic packaging and single-use products.   

The other thing it showed was that the plastics manufacturers wouldn’t back down without a fight, and they immediately led an attempt to overturn the law through a ballot measure in 2016 (Prop 65). Environmental advocates, including Save The Bay, helped lead the campaign to protect the law. At one point we even brought tons of plastic bags back to the headquarters of the largest plastic bag manufacturer in the world, Novolex, to highlight their role in trying to overturn the state’s first-in-the-nation ban on plastic bags. Ultimately, voters decided to keep the state’s ban in place. But our victory was short-lived.    

SB 270 had a flaw that allowed the use of reusable plastic bags if they were able to be recycled. Instead of shifting to actual reusable bags, the plastics industry promoted the use of thicker plastic film bags and claimed that they were recyclable. Soon, some chains were back offering only plastic carryout bags – contrary to voter’s wishes.    

The reality is that those thicker plastic bags ended up being just as big a problem as the older, thinner bags. In fact, since the state’s original law went into effect, plastic bag waste in California has increased by more than 50% because these new bags require more plastic, but they function just the same. People use plastic shopping bags for an average of 12 minutes and then throw them away. These bags aren’t recycled, and CalRecycle has certified that they are not able to be recycled in California. The result is more plastic pollution harming the San Francsico Bay and littering our communities, and the intent of the law wasn’t achieved.  

That’s why the new, updated, law was necessary. Now, stores will no longer be able to offer any plastic film bags at the checkout counter. Shoppers will be able to purchase recycled paper bags or bring their own reusable shopping bags from home. Many stores have already moved away from offering plastic shopping bags, and now that experience will be consistent wherever you shop in California.  

Save The Bay works to eliminate all trash pollution from the Bay. We have supported strict regulations to prevent trash from our cities flowing out to the Bay through our storm drains, and we have pushed Caltrans to control trash from the highways. Finally banning plastic shopping bags is an important step at controlling plastic pollution at the source – before it ends up in our communities.  

Campaigns like this take a long time and rely on a lot of allies and partners. We’re grateful for all the organizations that kept pressure on the legislature to get this done. We also appreciate Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan and Senators Allen and Blakespear for authoring this new bill, and Governor Newsom for signing it into law. With this victory, California has once again shown that it is a leader when it comes to reducing pollution and protecting water quality.