A California county has closed a loophole within its plastic-bag ban — businesses that fail to comply will pay a high cost.
As reported by the Press Democrat, Napa County's Board of Supervisors recently passed a ban on plastic carryout bags in the county's unincorporated areas. The ban, which takes effect at the start of 2026, closes a loophole that allowed retailers to provide thicker plastic bags, as long as they were marketed as reusable.
Retailers can continue to use their plastic bags through the end of this year. After that, any retailer that violates the ban will face daily fines that start at $1,000 and increase to $5,000.
"There's some teeth to this, and I think that's needed for human behavior change," Napa County supervisor Liz Alessio told the Press Democrat.
Retailers can offer paper bags, so long as they are made from at least 50% recycled material. Those bags will cost consumers 10 cents each, and the fee must be itemized on receipts.
Napa's ban brings it fully in accordance with California state law, which will prohibit all plastic shopping bags at the start of 2026.
The state had banned single-use plastic shopping bags from grocery stores and other food retailers in 2014 but allowed shoppers to purchase thicker plastic bags. But a study found that under that ban, California's shopping bag-related waste grew from eight pounds to 11 pounds per person, as most people simply threw away the thicker bags, instead of reusing them.
Plastic shopping bags are a major contributor to the massive amounts of plastic waste that have polluted our planet. To combat that, more and more locations have banned single-use plastic bags.
Data shows that these bans can be quite effective. New Jersey's ban, for instance, resulted in a 96% reduction of plastic bags distributed statewide, and a 38% reduction in bag-related pollution.
Along with its bag ban, Napa County also updated an ordinance that bans food retailers from using polystyrene containers and requires them to keep records of all recyclable and compostable foodware used.
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