Why we need a new California plastic bag ban

We’ve known for a long time that single-use plastic bags are wasteful. They create plastic pollution in our communities and threaten our health and the environment. And since most plastic takes hundreds of years to fully degrade, almost every bit of that plastic will still be out there piling up in landfills, littering our streets, and polluting our environment for generations to come. 

The threat of microplastic

When plastic breaks down it turns into smaller and smaller pieces called microplastics. These microplastics have been found in every part of the globe, from the highest mountain peaks, to the deepest ocean trenches. Microplastic is also being found in human bodies, potentially exposing us to harmful compounds that can impact our health.

Nothing we use for a few minutes should threaten our health and pollute our environment for hundreds of years—especially when it’s “stuff” we don’t need.

We need a new California plastic bag ban

We shouldn’t have to worry about plastic bag pollution. But the plastic companies circumvented a 2014 law that was supposed to ban them. We’re working to update the law, so that it bans all plastic carryout bags at grocery stores in California, including those slightly thicker plastic bags that are common at checkout stands today, and that plastic companies claim are reusable. The reality is that few people actually reuse them. Instead they end up as trash and harm our environment just as much as the thinner ones did. And because they are thicker, plastic bag waste by weight actually increased in the last few years to the highest level on record. 

We’re campaigning for a new bag ban this summer

The good news is that the California  legislature is currently considering a new law that would fix the bag ban, and ban all plastic film bags from being provided at grocery stores in California. 

We know well-designed plastic bag laws work, and are effective at reducing plastic pollution. The state of New Jersey has banned all plastic bags at stores and restaurants and data from the New Jersey Plastics Advisory Council estimates the law eliminates 5.51 billion plastic bags per year. 

California should take the lead

It’s time for California to address its bag problem once and for all. As the fifth largest economy in the world, and a state known for its iconic coastline, we can have a huge impact reducing plastic waste, and protecting vulnerable ocean ecosystems.  And if we build enough public support, we can win. 

CALPIRG has a long history of effective work to reduce plastic waste. Most recently we helped pass the Plastic Pollution Producer Responsibility Act, which requires that all single-use plastic foodware and containers be recyclable by 2032.  We’ve seen time and time again that when we combine the power of public opinion with strategic advocacy, we can win. 

Once we succeed in getting rid of single-use plastic bags, we’ll see a difference in cleaner parks, streets, beaches and waters, decreased exposure to toxic materials for humans and wildlife, and less waste choking our planet.

Help us strengthen California’s ban on plastic bags.