When California’s first ban on single-use plastic bags took effect in 2016the companies making the bags found a loophole: whether the bags were thick enough to be reused 125 timesthey are no longer considered single-use. The loophole worked spectacularly, and Dan Mott, an environmental educator with the nonprofit Friends of the LA River, saw the proof in the river’s waste.

“All of a sudden they became very big again, and they were the biggest ones with this ridiculous idea that we were going to reuse them,” Mott said.

His organization organizes an annual river cleanup that attracts thousands of volunteers. And he said the most common item they find is plastic bagsincluding the thick ones sold in grocery stores.

Plastic grocery bag waste in California actually increased after the first ban took effect, according to the state’s Department of Recycling and Resource Recovery, 157,395 tonnes in 2014 has 231,072 tonnes in 2021. This is partly because although some bags say they are recyclable, many recyclers I can’t treat them.

It’s also partly because even people who live in Los Angeles and show up at 8 a.m. to pick up trash don’t always reuse their bags.

“A lot of times I forget it in the trunk of my car,” said volunteer Todd Smith.

“I forget my bags every once in a while, so I’m like ‘shoot,'” said volunteer Carly Mischke.

“They never have paper bags, so I always have to collect these plastic ones,” said volunteer Alexis Brunkow.

THE new law aims to fill this gap. It says shoppers can either bring their own bag, purchase a paper bag, or leave without a bag at all.

“Gosh, I hope we made it,” said Mark Murray, executive director of an environmental group called Californians Against Waste. “I mean, it feels like the third or fourth time is the way to get it.”

He hopes it will work, but the new law isn’t perfect.

“This legislation regulates what happens at the control counter,” he said. “But this legislation does not regulate what can be sold in store aisles.”

So, in theory, the store could just sell these thick bags in an aisle a few steps from the checkouts.

“We hope that grocery stores will follow the spirit of the law, because we don’t want this to happen again in two or four years,” Murray said.

Other states, like New York, have successfully banned plastic bags.

“We were able to kind of see what was happening in California,” said Kayla Montayne, an environmental programs specialist at the New York Department of Environmental Conservation. “And so here in New York State, they were never allowed to be considered reusable bags.”

Just like that of California, the New York law does not apply to everyone. The family restaurant can still use plastic. So does the butcher at the grocery store. But New York City still saw a massive decline once the ban took effect.

“Between 2017 and 2023, the amount of plastic bags in the waste stream decreased by more than 50%,” Montayne said.

California won’t know if its new law will be effective for more than a year. Stores have until January 2026 to comply.