California says adiós to plastic bags! Why a new 2026 law bans them at grocery stores

No Katy Perry, in 2026, we won’t be feeling like a plastic bag drifting through the wind.

That’s because California is finally closing a major loophole in its plastic bag ban. Starting on Jan. 1, stores will be required to swap out those thick, reusable plastic bags with recycled paper bags.

How the law works

Under Senate Bill 1053, the ban applies to most grocery, drug and convenience stores — basically any store that sells food.

The paper bags, which still come with a 10 cent fee, will get doled out regardless of how you’re shopping. That means you can get them for things like curbside and home delivery, as well as self-checkout.

The paper bags have to be accepted in curbside recycling programs, and show the bag’s manufacturer, country of origin and the percentage of recycled materials.

That last part matters because starting in 2028, those bags must have a minimum of 50% recycled materials.

The law has a couple of exceptions, according to CalRecycle. You could still get plastic for prescriptions or, a separate bag without handles "to protect a purchased item from damaging or contaminating other purchased items." (Think produce or meat bags you get prior to checking out.) Garment bags are also allowed.

Didn’t we already ban plastic bags?

If this is giving you déjà vu, there's a reason.

About a decade ago, the state legislature passed a ban on single-use carryout bags, which voters upheld two years later with Proposition 67.

The goal was to reduce plastic waste — but it didn’t work out as planned. While lightweight bags were prohibited, a loophole in the law allowed thicker bags that could be reused.

However, those bags have posed a problem. The thicker ones are made of high-density polyethylene, or HDPE, which the EPA says can’t be placed in your curbside blue bin. So in the end, these bags largely aren’t recycled and wind up in the trash.

The net result: Not at all what was intended. In fact, CalRecycle’s latest data shows there’s now 47% more plastic bags in landfills since the original ban passed. Legislators hope that will go down with the new ban.