On Sunday, California Governor Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) signed a bill into law that will ban the use of plastic bags at grocery stores all across the state.

As reported by Axios, the new law follows up on a previous law passed ten years prior which forced stores to start selling “thicker plastic carryout bags that were considered reusable and met certain recyclability standards,” said State Senator Catherine Blakespear (D-Calif.), one of the legislators responsible for the new bill.

“The truth is almost none of those bags are reused or recycled,” Blakespear claimed, without any evidence. “And they end up in landfills or polluting the environment.”

Radical environmentalists have repeatedly claimed that plastic bags make for one of the most commonly-found items in cleanup efforts at public places. Anja Brandon, a spokeswoman for the nonprofit group Ocean Conservancy, claimed that “volunteers have cleaned up enough plastic bags to span the length of the Golden Gate Bridge nearly 30 times.” She also asserted that plastic bags “are not only one of the most common plastics polluting our beaches, but also one of the top five deadliest forms of plastic pollution to marine life.”

The new law will not apply to “bags used to hold produce or wrap food that could cause contamination, such as meat,” but will otherwise apply to bags that are used in the final checkout of all purchased groceries.

Instead of cashiers asking customers if they want to use a paper bag or plastic bag, the only option available will be paper bags, unless the customer has brought their own.

However, despite Blakespear and others claiming that the bill will help reduce pollution, even pro-recycling groups have warned that the law will not solve the overall problem.

“This flawed bill is similar to legislation in New Jersey, Canada and other regions that has resulted in the widespread use of imported non-recyclable plastic-cloth bags,” said Erin Hass, a spokeswoman for the American Recyclable Plastic Bag Alliance, who added that the group was “disappointed” in the new legislation.

The new law will take effect on January 1st, 2026, thus giving grocery stores throughout the state over one year to begin complying with the new restrictions.