California lawmakers have upped the stakes in the fight against plastic with a significant new fine, The Press Democrat reported.

The Napa County Board of Supervisors voted in favor of an ordinance to boost compliance with Senate Bill 1053 — which afforded retailers more than a year to deplete their plastic bag supply — introducing potentially hefty fines for repeat violations.

The board also passed a separate ordinance targeting plastic foodware, such as cutlery, in line with California's efforts to protect residents from hazardous microplastics.

Under Napa County's new rule, retailers who don't comply could face fines of $1,000 per day. Merchants who repeatedly violate the law could be fined $5,000 per day.

California was the first state to implement legislation discouraging the use of plastic bags in 2014. More than a decade on, 12 states adopted similar measures to curtail single-use plastic bags. 

Although they're routinely called "plastic bag bans," that's a bit of a misnomer — states and other jurisdictions typically impose small fees instead of outright bans, encouraging shoppers to choose reusable grocery bags.

When California "banned" plastic bags in 2014, there was little long-term data on the efficacy of plastic bag reduction initiatives. In January 2024, the World Economic Forum cited research on the impact of the measures in the U.S. 

Researchers found that in just three of the 12 states and two cities, an estimated six billion fewer plastic bags were used each year, and they estimated the measures "could cut single-use plastic bag use by around 300 bags per person each year once adopted."

In short, plastic bag bans work incredibly well. In October, California announced it had both settled lawsuits with plastic bag manufacturers and filed a new one, all pertaining to a "loophole" in the original 2014 law.

It contained a provision exempting reusable, thicker plastic bags purportedly suitable for recycling. Consumers were still charged 10 cents for the supposedly compliant bags, but they were not recyclable, leading to more durable bags in landfills.

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Senate Bill 1053 closed the loophole, effective Jan. 1, 2026.

Napa County Supervisor Liz Alessio told The Press Democrat that the county plans "outreach and education" efforts as SB 1053 goes into effect, but she admitted that the fine structure might be necessary to motivate some retailers to break up with plastic bags for good.

"There's some teeth to this, and I think that's needed for human behavior change, often," Alessio observed.

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