Grocery bags back in, fees not entirely out
Newsom’s executive order created a confusing mix of rules that vary by city
Citing concerns about the spread of coronavirus, Gov. Gavin Newsom has issued an executive order suspending a state law for 60 days that bans grocery stores, convenience stores and other retailers in California from providing customers with single-use plastic bags and which requires stores to charge at least 10 cents per bag.
Simple, right? So when you go to the store for the next two months, you’ll get a plastic or paper bag for your groceries, just like in years past and it will be free?
No. It’s more complicated. It depends on where you shop.
Newsom’s executive order, signed Thursday, doesn’t apply to cities and counties that passed their local bag laws that took effect before Jan. 1, 2015. There are about 80 of those, including San
Jose, Oakland, San Francisco, Palo Alto, and Santa Cruz, along with other areas, like the city of Los Angeles. Places like Sacramento, Fresno and San Diego, however, didn’t pass an early local law and are bound by Newsom’s executive order.
Bottom line: Millions of Californians and the thousands of stores where they shop are covered by the governor’s order, but millions of others are not.
The grocery industry, which requested the changes, and environmental groups, who oppose them, say the result is likely to be confusing for shoppers, stores and local officials.
“It just seems silly and unnecessary for the governor to do a halfway executive order that covers maybe half of the state,” said Mark Murray, executive director of the environmental group Californians Against Waste. “I’m confused.”
“It would have been our preference to do a statewide order that included every city and county,” said Ron Fong, president of the California Grocers Association.
Why did Newsom do this?
Ever since the pandemic broke out, grocery workers have expressed concerns that they are at high risk of getting COVID-19 from customers. On March 25, the California Grocers Association and the California Retailers Association sent a letter to Newsom, asking him to temporarily suspend the state’s prohibition on single-use plastic bags to reduce the number of people bringing reusable bags, which they worried might spread the virus. A leading union that represents more than 30,000 grocery store workers in Northern California at places such as Safeway agreed.
“A lot of our members feel very anxious because they are put on the front lines,” said Jim Araby, director of strategic campaigns for United Food and Commercial Workers Local 5.
In his executive order, Newsom said: “It is critical to protect the public health and safety and minimize the risk of COVID-19 exposure for workers engaged in essential activities, such as those handling reusable grocery bags.”
Murray’s group wants shoppers to still be able to bring their reusable bags to stores, but said they should load their own groceries to address any concerns that store workers might have.
So will I have to pay for bags now?
Not in most places. Newsom’s order suspends the state law requiring stores to charge at least 10 cents for a paper or plastic bag. That money is kept by stores to cover the costs of the bags they give out. The provision was originally put into the law — which was upheld by voters in 2016 a statewide referendum — to encourage people to bring their own bags to the store as a way to reduce waste and litter.
Fong said Friday that most grocery stores in the state will no longer charge for bags during the 60day suspension, even if they are in places where Newsom’s order doesn’t apply.
But why did Newsom exempt all those cities and counties?
That’s unclear. Newsom’s press office and the California EPA didn’t make officials available for interviews Friday.
In 2014, former Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law, Senate Bill 270, that banned single-use plastic bags and required stores to charge a fee for paper bags or a thicker type plastic bags that were still allowed under the law. The law was designed to cut down on the huge amount of plastic pollution that is fouling rivers, bays and the Pacific Ocean.
It took effect Jan. 1, 2015. But it allowed cities and counties that had already passed their own local laws to keep those on the books. It’s possible that attorneys in the Newsom administration didn’t want to get into a political and legal tussle with those cities and counties, particularly since the laws are enforced locally and not by the state.
Which cities and counties are exempt?
The following cities and counties passed local laws before Jan. 1, 2015. In these places, stores are still banned from handing out single-use plastic bags, despite Newsom’s order. And stores in these places technically can keep charging bag fees of up to 25 cents, although some won’t. They are:
Alameda County and all 14 of its cities, Arcata, Belmont, Brisbane, Burlingame, Calabasas, Campbell, Capitola, Carmel, Carpinteria, Colma, Culver City, Cupertino, Daly City, Dana Point, Davis, Desert Hot Springs, East Palo Alto, El Cerrito, Fairfax, Fort Bragg, Foster City, Glendale, Half Moon Bay, Indio, Laguna Beach, Larkspur, Long Beach, Los Altos, Los Angele, Los Angeles County, Los Gatos, Malibu, Manhattan Beach, Marin County,
Mendocino County, Menlo Park, Mill Valley, Millbrae, Monterey, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Novato, Ojai, Pacifica, Palm Springs, Palo Alto, Pasadena, Pittsburg, Portola Valley, Redwood City, Richmond, San Bruno, San Carlos, San Francisco, San Jose, San Mateo City, San Mateo County, San Pablo, San Rafael, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara City, Santa Clara County, Santa Cruz City, Santa Cruz County, Santa Monica, Santa Rosa, Sausalito, San Luis Obispo County and its seven cities, Solana Beach, Sonoma County and its eight cities, South Lake Tahoe, South Pasadena, South San Francisco, Sunnyvale, Tiburon, Truckee, Ukiah, Walnut Creek, Watsonville and West Hollywood.
Can you get COVID-19 from a grocery bag?
Nobody knows for sure. There have been no published scientific studies showing whether coronavirus can exist on reusable grocery bags, which are usually made of woven polypropylene plastic, cotton and other cloth.
A study published last month in the New England Journal of Medicine found that the virus can survive up to 72 hours on stainless steel and plastic surfaces and on cardboard up to 24 hours. But by 72 hours, less than 0.1% is still viable, the study found.
In recent weeks, out of caution, health officials in Bay Area counties, along with Santa Cruz and San Benito counties, have widened their stay-at-home orders to prohibit grocery stores from allowing customers to bring their own reusable bags to stores. Regardless, it’s best to always wash your hands after you shop.
So where does that leave me?
If you live in one of the exempt cities or counties — particularly in the Bay Area where reusable bags are temporarily banned — your only option will probably be a paper bag or the kind of heavier-grade plastic bag that had previously been allowed under the state law.
You may or may not have to pay for the bags the store gives you. If you live in a city or county covered by Newsom’s order, you will be given a choice of paper or plastic, and you won’t have to pay. If you don’t, you might. After Newsom’s order expires in 60 days, he could continue it, or decide not to, which would revert the state back to its original statewide ban on single-use carryout bags, with the requirement that stores charge a fee, usually 10 cents for the bags they give customers.