California grocers prepare for plastic bag ban | California Politics 360
We start with *** ban on plastic bags. Starting January 1st, grocery stores will no longer be able to sell plastic bags at all. Technically, California banned those bags in 2014, but it left an exception for thicker plastic bags that could be reused multiple times. This new law closes that loophole. Earlier I met with Nate Rose with the California Grocers Association. Here’s our conversation. Nate, thank you so much for making time for us. Yes, thank you for having me. Nate. What should people expect when they come to the grocery store starting in 2026 with this ban in effect? Yes, that classic paper or plastic moment will be gone from the grocery store experience. Reusable plastic bags won’t be for sale anymore when you’re checking out. We’ll still have paper available and you can bring your reusable bags from home, but we really want to encourage people to reduce waste, use less plastic. And that will be *** part of the grocery shopping experience going forward. How have grocers been preparing for this? We’ve had *** couple of years to get ready, so I’m not really expecting any hiccups. You know, anytime there’s *** supply chain change, there’s *** little bit of *** pinch, and the bags, paper bags are *** little bit more expensive than plastic, so it’s possible you might have to pay *** little bit more than the classic 10 cents when you’re grocery shopping. Yes, so for example. Like right now *** Trader Joe’s and some other smaller stores might only sell paper bags, but that 10 cents charge, it could be different depending on the store and location in California. Is that right? Yes, that’s exactly right. And *** lot of it depends on the size of the grocer. So *** large grocer, it might be easier for them to spread that cost across many locations, but for *** smaller independent store, they might have to recoup some of that. The fact that it is more expensive than the reusable plastic with those thicker plastic bags that were meant to be reusable, I mean, were grocery stores finding that people were reusing them, or is that sort of the push behind the ban we’re seeing now? Yes, that’s what they were always meant to be. They were always not meant to be disposable. They were meant to be brought back into the store. They could hold up over many uses. I think there was *** sense, especially coming out of the pandemic, that people just weren’t using them that way. Anymore, maybe the 10 cents wasn’t enough, or maybe it goes back to when we banned bringing reusable bags into the stores because we’re afraid that COVID might spread that way. So yes, people sort of lost the habit. That’s the sense, and we need to get back to the original spirit of the law, which was really to bring your reusable bags from home and to reduce waste. Nate Rose with the California Groceries Association, thank you. Yeah, thank you for having me.
California grocers prepare for plastic bag ban | California Politics 360
Updated: 8:27 AM PST Dec 28, 2025
“Paper or plastic?” will no longer be a question in California grocery stores and convenience stores. Starting in January, the stores will no longer be allowed to offer plastic bags to customers because of a new state law. This new law bans an exception in a previous law that allowed the sale of thicker plastic bag that can be reused.Moving forward, paper will be the only option.The change is part of a nearly decade’s long effort by state lawmakers to ban the use of plastic bags to protect the environment. Experts note plastic bags are among the most common types of plastic waste. “We’ve had a couple of years to get ready so I’m not expecting any hiccups,” said Nate Rose, the spokesman for the California Grocers Association. “Anytime there’s a supply chain change, there’s a little bit of a pinch.”Rose noted the price of a paper bag will vary across the state and across retailers and may not always be 10 cents. “A lot of it depends on the size of the grocer. A large grocer, it might be easier for them to spread that cost across many locations. For a smaller independent store, they might have to recoup some of that,” Rose said. Watch the full interview with Nate Rose in the video player above. This story was produced for California Politics 360, which reports in-depth coverage of top California politics and policy issues. Get informed each Sunday at 8:30 a.m. on KCRA 3.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
“Paper or plastic?” will no longer be a question in California grocery stores and convenience stores.
Starting in January, the stores will no longer be allowed to offer plastic bags to customers because of a new state law. This new law bans an exception in a previous law that allowed the sale of thicker plastic bag that can be reused.
Moving forward, paper will be the only option.
The change is part of a nearly decade’s long effort by state lawmakers to ban the use of plastic bags to protect the environment. Experts note plastic bags are among the most common types of plastic waste.
“We’ve had a couple of years to get ready so I’m not expecting any hiccups,” said Nate Rose, the spokesman for the California Grocers Association. “Anytime there’s a supply chain change, there’s a little bit of a pinch.”
Rose noted the price of a paper bag will vary across the state and across retailers and may not always be 10 cents.
“A lot of it depends on the size of the grocer. A large grocer, it might be easier for them to spread that cost across many locations. For a smaller independent store, they might have to recoup some of that,” Rose said.
Watch the full interview with Nate Rose in the video player above.
This story was produced for California Politics 360, which reports in-depth coverage of top California politics and policy issues. Get informed each Sunday at 8:30 a.m. on KCRA 3.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel