We need to ban plastic bags in restaurants and shops

Plastic bag pollution will no longer come from the grocery store, but we need to prevent it at the other places we shop

Plastic bags are unnecessary and harmful

We know plastic pollution is bad. 

Creating plastic requires drilling for oil and releasing toxins into the air, including carcinogens and neurotoxins.  After we’re done using it, plastic becomes harmful waste. One significant source of plastic pollution that we simply don’t need is the plastic bag.

After a short trip home from shopping or eating out, most plastic bags quickly become trash. Then, they clog up our landfills, where they leach toxic chemicals into our groundwater. When they don’t make it to the landfill, they are left to pollute our environment, where they threaten sea life and break into even smaller pieces called microplastics. Microplastics have been found nearly everywhere, from the top of Mt. Everest to the bottom of the Mariana Trench and even inside our bodies.

plastic bag ocean trash pollution
Rich Carey | Shutterstock.com

We don’t need plastic bags

Plenty of better alternatives to the plastic bag exist. Cloth tote bags can be used for dozens of years, if not decades. Paper bags are widely recyclable and can even be compostable, unlike the plastic bag. But, despite safer, more sustainable alternatives, many stores and restaurants still offer plastic bags as the default option to their customers. In 2021, this meant that Californians still threw out more than 231 thousand tons of plastic bags.

Clearly, we just need to get rid of plastic bags.

California has taken the lead against plastic bags

In September, California took a major step towards ending plastic bag pollution. After campaigning to eliminate the plastic grocery bag for more than a decade, CALPIRG and other environmental and public health groups were excited to celebrate California’s official ban on plastic grocery bags. When the law goes into effect, plastic bags will no longer be provided at grocery store checkout, reducing plastic waste and trash in our environment.

CALPIRG staff, students and coalition partners showed support for legislation that would improve upon an existing law that we helped pass back in 2014 that intended to ban plastic bags in grocery stores.
Andy Smith | TPIN
CALPIRG staff, students and coalition partners showed support for legislation that would improve upon an existing law that we helped pass back in 2014 that intended to ban plastic bags in grocery stores.

We’re campaigning to eliminate all unnecessary plastic bags

While we celebrate this important milestone, we know our work to end harmful plastic pollution is far from over. Moving forward, we will continue tackling unnecessary plastic waste, including plastic bags. Although plastic bags have been banned from grocery stores, they can still be handed out at many stores and eateries across California. Currently, only a few cities, like Los Angeles, have banned restaurants and retail stores from bagging purchases in any kind of plastic bag. Clearly, we still have a long way to go before we can fully declare “victory” over the plastic bag.

Luckily, it’s in CALPIRG’s DNA to sink our teeth into long-haul efforts. With the momentum of the win against plastic grocery bags, we will work to expand this ban to include restaurants and retail stores in cities and counties across the state. We know change often starts at the city level, and if we can get enough cities to act, we can build momentum towards statewide action. Before California passed the original single-use plastic grocery bag ban, CALPIRG led the effort to get more than 100 cities and counties to ban them. 

It’s time to end senseless plastic waste. Let’s truly rid of unnecessary plastic bags.

Will you call on your city council to ban plastic bags at restaurants and retail stores?
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Authors

Fiona Hines

Legislative Advocate, CALPIRG

Fiona supports CALPIRG’s advocacy efforts across the state, leading campaigns to reduce plastic waste and protect public health. Fiona lives in Los Angeles, where she enjoys spending time in the sunshine and seeing live music.