California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) signed into law a bill on Sunday banning plastic bags in grocery stores, following evidence that the state's decade-old ban on single-use plastic bags has exacerbated plastic pollution.
Governor Newsom's office capped the news with a press release on Sunday, but did not specify that the bill was a plastic bag ban. The press release simply described the legislation as “SB 1053 by Senator Katherine Breakspear (D-Encinitas) – Solid Waste: Recycled Paper Bags: Standards: Carry Bag Ban.” It was one of dozens of bills signed by Governor Newsom.
but, legislation The law will go into effect on January 1, 2026, and will bring big changes to grocery stores across the state. Customers will no longer be able to choose between paper and plastic bags at the register. The only plastic bags allowed will be those provided in the grocery store, such as those used to wrap fresh meat products.
As Breitbart News points out, California Democrats passed a ban in 2014 to try to reduce plastic bag waste in the state. Far from reducing plastic bag waste, the ban on thin, disposable plastic bags increased per capita plastic waste in the state by nearly 50%. Consumers didn't want to reuse the thicker plastic bags allowed by law. They tried to throw them away or recycle them, but that only increased overall plastic waste.
Instead of learning a hard lesson about the futility and unintended consequences of misusing government power, Governor Newsom and the Democrats have simply passed a new plastic bag ban that seeks to eliminate takeout bags entirely.
Joel B. Pollack is executive editor of Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday It airs Sundays from 7:00pm-10:00pm ET (4:00pm-7:00pm PT) on SiriusXM Patriot. He is the author of the following books: Agenda: What President Trump Should Do in His First 100 Daysavailable for pre-order on Amazon. He also Trumpian virtue: The lessons and legacy of Donald Trump's presidencyavailable now on Audible. He is the recipient of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter. Joel Pollack.
