Newsom signs second ban on plastic bags after first one doesn't work

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) signed a second ban on plastic bags on Sunday after his first ban on them didn't work.

The new ban covers thicker plastic bags that consumers started using after thinner plastic bags were banned back in 2014.

The thicker bags were available at grocery stores at a cost of 15 cents each. When the law takes effect in 2026, only plastic bags will be allowed in stores.

The number of plastic bags thrown away by consumers went up 50% between 2014 and 2022, the exact opposite of what the first law intended.

Plastic bags can take 1000 years to decompose in a landfill, and even when they do break down, they leave microplastics behind that are the cause of many problems when people ingest them or absorb them through the skin.

Paper bags decompose more quickly, taking only 1-200 years to decompose in a landfill and much faster outside of it.