鈥淧aper or plastic?鈥� You won鈥檛 be hearing that common question at California grocery stores any more starting Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. That鈥檚 when a new statewide ban on plastic bags goes into effect. Senate Bill 1053, which was signed into law in September 2024, prevents grocery markets, convenience stores, food marts and retailers with pharmacies from giving shoppers any type of plastic bag at check out.
Stores will only be allowed to hand out recycled paper bags to customers, according to California鈥檚 Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, also known as CalRecycle. California voters previously approved a statewide referendum upholding a ban on single-use carryout plastic bags in November 2016.
Under Senate Bill 270, grocery stores had to start charging at least 10 cents for reusable grocery bags or recycled paper bags, according to the California Department of Justice. By only banning single-use, lightweight plastic bags, the law left open a loophole for businesses to distribute thicker plastic bags under the guise that they could be reused up to 125 times by consumers, CalRecycle said.