The state led the nation in 2014 by banning single-use plastic bags, but a loophole actually led to more plastic waste. By Soumya Karlamangla Reporting from San Francisco Paper or paper?

Gavin Newsom signed a bill banning plastic bags from grocery store checkouts ... Download USA TODAY's app to get to the heart of news No, the government didn't create the hurricanes.

In California, shoppers will have only one bag option at the checkout line starting in 2026. A decade ago, California became the first U.S. state to ban single-use plastic bags, the flimsy sacks ...

FILE - A plastic bag sits along a roadside in Sacramento, Calif., Oct. 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File) Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] SACRAMENTO, ...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — “Paper or plastic” will no longer be a choice at grocery store checkout lines in California under a new law signed Sunday by Gov. Gavin Newsom that bans all plastic ...

The new bill, SB 1053, changes the current plastic bag ban to make plastic bags no longer an option at checkout for people shopping in California. Starting Jan. 1, 2026, shoppers who do not bring ...