California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into a law a bill last week that will change grocery stores throughout the state in the near future. SB 1046, put forth by Sen. Susan Talamantes Eggman, will force supermarkets to phase out single-use plastic produce bags, called pre-checkout bags, that are often seen near the fruits and vegetables section by Jan. 1, 2025.
According to the San Jose Mercury News, stores will have to use recycled paper bags or compostable bags instead.
The bill originally asked that all plastic bags be replaced by 2023. However, in an April letter from the California Grocers Association to Eggman, the association asked the date be changed to 2025 to give stores time to alter their supply chain.
“Now that the governor has signed SB 1046, the grocery community is focused on preparing to comply with the new law by 2025,” Nate Rose, senior director of communications for the California Grocers Association, told SFGATE in an email. “There are many moving pieces to navigate, mostly concerning how to source and scale compostable and recyclable pre-checkout bags for our shoppers in a supply chain environment that has not been without its challenges in the past few years.”
Six years ago, voters approved Proposition 67, which banned plastic bags from checkout lines at grocery stores. Now, plastic bags will no longer be seen at any grocery store in California by the start of 2025.
According to the Mercury News, the number of plastic bags picked up at California beaches during the state’s annual Coast Clean Up day dropped by 61% from 65,736 to 25,768 by 2019.
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