California passes total retail polyethylene bag ban

California lawmakers have passed a complete ban on polyethylene (PE) retail plastic bags, closing a legal loophole that previously allowed thick reusable PE bags made of 40pc recycled plastic.

Both the California Senate and Assembly approved the measure, which goes to governor Gavin Newsom (D) for a signature. If he does sign it, the bill would go into effect on 1 January 2026.

Flexible plastics reclaimers and a newly formed advocacy group called the Responsible Recycling Alliance (RRA) opposed the bill, citing a higher carbon footprint for paper and reusable bags.

A 2014 California law allowed for reusable PE bags in retail stores if they had at least 40pc post-consumer recycled resin. This helped create significant demand for post-consumer recycled flexible PE resin.

But the 40pc rule received scrutiny after reports showed that the thicker bags were unrecyclable, despite their labeling. CalRecycle reported that the volume of merchandise bags discardedgrew to 231,000 metric tonnes by 2022, a 47pc increase from 2014, when the original plastic bag ban was passed.

"It's time for us to get rid of these plastic bags and continue to move forward with a more pollution-free environment," senator Catherine Blakespear (D) said following passage of the bill in the state Assembly.

The RRA, the group founded by reclaimers Merlin Plastics, PreZero and EFS Plastics, had argued unsuccessfully that the bags should instead be included in California's extended producer responsibility program.

Woven polypropylene (PP) bags were not affected by California's latest bag ban. But a study by market research company The Freedonia Group funded by the American Recyclable Bag Alliance showed that banning PE bags and enforcing reusable PP bags caused virgin plastics usage for bags to rise by 300pc after the ban's passage in 2022.

By Zach Kluver