On January 1, 2026, California shoppers will have a singular bag option – paper. After failed initial efforts to limit single-use bags, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a new bill into law on Sunday that will ban all plastic bags from grocery store checkout lines in California.
Sen. Catherine Blakespear and Assembly Member Rebecca Bauer-Kahan introduced a new bill to amend the 2016 Proposition 67, which banned grocery stores from handing out single-use plastic bags. According to the New York Times, previously, many companies bypassed the 2016 ban by introducing “reusable plastic bags,” which consisted of thicker plastic that was considered recyclable.
Yet, according to a 2024 survey by The California Public Interest Research Group, CALPIRG, a student-directed advocacy group, these bags aren’t usually reused or recycled.
The survey determined that only 2% of people carried plastic bags into the grocery store to reuse them. Additionally, their data revealed that people discarded 231,072 plastic bags in 2021, compared to 157,395 discarded in 2014.
The new legislation closes a loophole by banning all plastic bags in grocery store lines. The amended bill aims to motivate consumers to bring reusable bags for store purchases rather than relying on plastic bags, so that California can reduce its plastic consumption.
L.A. County Chief of Sustainability Rita Kampalath explained how an effort to eliminate the use of plastic bags has been in the works for years.
The “lightweight” nature of plastic bags allows “so much opportunity for [them] to escape from waste management and make it out into the environment,” making it a “high priority and high target for legislators and policymakers” in recent years, Kampalath said.
Since 2007, California has worked to ban plastic bags, with San Francisco being the first to enact the ban. Other California cities such as Los Angeles, San Jose and Berkeley followed; however, the effectiveness was short-lasting as stores quickly shifted to offer thicker plastic bags that they deemed “reusable,” according to the New York Times.
Though larger corporations have resisted legislative efforts, Kampalath believes that Californias will be receptive to the new changes.
“This is something that people want,” Kampalath said. “Sustainability and waste, it really is about just making it easier for people to make the right choice. So to me, this law is really about supporting people and making the choices that they want to make for a more sustainable County in California.”
The USC Village Target gives thick plastic bags to customers in the checkout lines, which are significantly sturdier than the typical flimsy ones – a prime example of the workaround companies have also used.
Billie Oleyar, a junior theatrical design major, said they are “part of the problem.” They said they try remembering their reusable bags but “always forget.”
“The slow progression that we’re making towards stopping the use [plastic bags] is really helpful. I just wish it could be sped along,” Oleyar said.
While the law will not take effect until 2026, Mick Dalrymple, chief sustainability officer and leadership in energy and environmental design, encourages students to be proactive in their sustainability efforts and “bring [their] own reusable bags anytime [they] shop.”
“As with working out, creating a regular study schedule, or establishing any other habits, it takes a certain amount of repetition to create the habit and you’re going to forget them occasionally until it becomes your new normal. Don’t get frustrated. Just keep doing it,” Dalrymple said.
Opportunities like student sustainability training are available for USC students where they can learn sustainable practices – such as utilizing reusable bags – and build their understanding of how they can better the environment.
USC is “leading, ahead of any potential future expansion to this law,’ he said. The school has already eliminated plastic bags in a majority of their retail operations, he said, but there is still work to be done to eliminate plastic bags on campus entirely.
Though the ban has been a long time coming and has faced many setbacks, “all progress towards sustainability is good news, the faster the better,” Dalrymple said.