Many grocery-store shoppers have been surprised at the checkout stand in recent days.

California now has the nation’s first statewide ban on single-use plastic bags. The restrictions apply to large food retailers, pharmacies, corner markets and liquor stores but not restaurants or department stores.

Businesses can still offer paper bags and thicker plastic bags as long as they charge at least 10 cents for each of those items — a move crafted to encourage folks to tote their own reusable sacks.

The new rules kicked in after voters approved Proposition 67 on Tuesday, upholding the ban on single-use plastic bags that California lawmakers approved in 2014 through Senate Bill 270.


» Related: Plastic bag ban did well on coast, not so much inland

The legislation was sent to a referendum as a result of efforts by the plastics industry. Voters rejected that campaign to overturn the law by a margin of 52 percent to 48 percent, and they scuttled another industry-backed ballot proposal that would have sent all profits from new bag sales to a state environmental fund.

“This is a huge win that goes way beyond plastic bags,” said Mark Murray, executive director of Californians Against Waste. “This makes a strong statement in terms of (sending) a signal to polluters that might be eyeing to overturn other California environmental laws.”

Supporters of the law hope it will embolden other states that have considered banning grocery bags, including Massachusetts, New York and Washington. On the other end, Nevada, Missouri and Idaho have rules on the books making it more difficult to ban plastic bags.


“We didn’t pick this fight, but honestly, having an affirmative vote of the public on this policy is pretty profound in terms of sending a message across the country,” Murray said.

Industry groups such as Hilex Poly and Formosa Plastics have criticized the ban as an unnecessary tax on low-income shoppers that will have little impact on reducing overall pollution. The largely out-of-state industry poured $6.1 million into the campaign to overturn the law, compared with the $1.6 million spent by environmental groups to save it.

The idea of a national ripple effect didn’t seem to much concern Phil Rozenski, policy chair of the American Progressive Bag Alliance. While he said it’s the industry’s obligation to comply with what the majority of voters have decided, he also said the issue remains controversial in the state. “It barely survived a public vote. It wasn’t a very resounding affirmation from the state of California.”

Rozenski predicted that the ban would backfire as shoppers end up having to pay for the thicker, reusable plastic bags at the checkout stand.


“When you look at the types of bags being used, California’s actually going to increase its use of plastic,” he said. “It’s very doubtful that it’s going to have an environmental benefit, and I think implementation will show that it’s probably problematic in the long run.”

It’s estimated that Californians have used about 13 billion plastic checkout bags each year.

Criticism against single-use plastic bags has focused on their clogging of recycling machines and polluting of streets, streams, creeks and beaches. Ocean degradation is also often cited, as turtles, whales and other marine animals can be harmed by swallowing the plastic debris.

More than 150 municipalities in California have passed local bag bans, including the cities of San Diego, Solana Beach, Encinitas, Del Mar and Oceanside.


Outside of the Ralphs supermarket in downtown San Diego, Charlie Chang, 43, was caught off-guard Friday by the new rules. As a result, he walked to his apartment a few blocks from the store carrying an armful of caned goods and other items.

“I have a lot of plastic bags at home, so I don’t need to buy any. I just walk across the street,” said Chang, adding that he will bring his own reusable bags in the future.

“I think it’s very good for us not to take more bags than what we need,” he added. “I’m good with that. I’m actually very happy.”

Fellow downtown resident John Whalan, 78, walked out of the same grocery store carrying his goods in one of the thicker plastic bags available for a minimum of 10 cents.


“I thought it didn’t start until January 1,” he said. “If I come from home I can bring my own, but I got to the gym over there and I stop (at Ralphs) on the way back. I had to buy (a bag) — no big deal.”

Cities and counties must abide by the state law’s minimum standards but can go beyond them. For instance, they can expand the types of businesses subject to the restrictions, as well as increase the price charged for paper and reusable plastic bags.

In a small number of cases, local ordinances were grandfathered in before the state rules went into effect. As a result, the price for alternative bags around the state ranges from 5 cents to 25 cents.

Roger Kube with the Surfrider Foundation’s San Diego County chapter, which has spearheaded efforts across the region to outlaw single-use plastic bags, said of the statewide ban: “Not only does it have that impact of removing those plastic checkout bags from ultimately the environment, but it raised the level of this conversation about plastic pollution in the marine environment.”


Kube also said he and others will look closely at annual beach clean-up events to see if there’s a notable reduction in plastic-bag litter. The bags are routinely in the top five types of debris collected during such efforts, he said.

“It will definitely have a huge impact on beach pollution,” he said. “We plan on not seeing many, if any, plastic checkout bags on our beaches anymore.”

San Diego County was split on the issue in the November election, with just over 50 percent of voters approving of the state ban. When the city of San Diego passed its own local restrictions on single-use bags in the summer, several members of the City Council objected to the ordinance on practical grounds.

Their concerns ranged from the threat of an increase in paper-bag use to the everyday frustrations of consumers who reuse checkout bags to clean up after their pets or line small wastebaskets.


Environmentalists said they continue to monitor demand for paper bags, and will be keen on gauging whether that demand rises as shoppers no longer can get single-use plastic bags for free.

Meanwhile, they pointed to myriad sources of plastic in daily life that can be used in place of the thin carry-alls. “There’s so many ways to get creative and actually reuse the thing you already have, and people will still be able to get bags at other stores,” said Genevieve Abedon, waste prevention campaign coordinator with Californians Against Waste.

San Francisco spearheaded the movement against single-use plastic bags in 2007, becoming the first city in the country to pass such a ban. It was followed by other Bay Area and coastal cities.

Since then, San Jose has reported a reduction in bag litter of nearly 90 percent in-its storm drain system since passing a ban in 2011.


The city of San Diego projects that as much as 95 percent of all single-use plastic bag distribution will be eliminated as a result of its local ban.

Twitter: @jemersmith

Phone: (619) 293-2234

Email: joshua.smith@sduniontribune.com