California has banned all plastic bags at the checkout of grocery stores under a law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a bill that bans all plastic bags at grocery store checkouts.

Why it matters: According to a statement by state senator Catherine Blakespear, the law that goes into effect Jan. 1, 2020, honors a ban that was enacted ten years ago on single-use plastic bags. This allowed stores and customers to purchase thicker carryout bags which were reusable.

Blakespear is one of the legislators who drafted the bill. He said, “the reality is that almost none of these bags are recycled or reused, and end up in landfills, or polluting our environment.”

According to the numbers: In an earlier statement, she cited research that showed “the amount grocery and merchandise bags disposed of by Californians increased from 147.038 tons or approximately 8 pounds per individual in 2004 to 231,072 tonnes or approximately 11 pounds per individual in 2021.”

Anja Brandon of the Ocean Conservancy environmental nonprofit, in an emailed message, welcomed the new law.

Brandon said that volunteers had cleaned up enough bags over the past decade to stretch the Golden Gate Bridge almost 30 times.

Plastic grocery bags are one of the five most deadly forms of marine pollution.

Los Angeles Times reports that the new law does not include “bags used for produce or to wrap foods that can cause contamination such as meat”

Blakespear explained: “Instead, customers will be asked whether they prefer a plastic or paper bag at the checkout if they don’t have a reusable bag.”

This simple approach will reduce plastic bag waste dramatically.

According to the L.A. Times, the executive director of the American Recyclable Plastic Bag Alliance, Erin Hass, said that the group was disappointed by Newsom’s signature.

This flawed bill is similar in many ways to the legislation that was passed in New Jersey, Canada, and other areas. It has led to the use of non-recyclable imported plastic-cloth bags.