How to Survive and Thrive Under California's New Plastic Bag Ban

LOS ANGELES, CA — It happens the same way every time. I head to the Trader Joe’s in Long Beach where the plastic bag ban has been in effect for years, and I am ready with a trunk well-stocked with reusable bags (I prefer the Amoeba Music bag because I think it makes me look cool). But when I get to the checkout stand, I realize I left the bags in my car. I sheepishly pay for the 10-cent paper bags while avoiding the judge-y stares of the other shoppers.

Why is it so hard to get into the habit of reusable shopping bags?

With the passage of Proposition 67 by 52 percent to 48 percent Tuesday, the plastic bag ban went into effect instantly. All of California must now remember their reusable bags or pay the 10-cent fee (and suffer the judge-y stares). Stores such as Trader Joe's will continue to sell their paper bags while Target sells a 10-cent reusable plastic bag, a sturdier version of its old bag.

Residents in cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland and Long Beach are old hands at getting by without plastic bags thanks to citywide and regional bans. But the rest of the state will have a learning curve. To save yourself the 10-cent fee while doing your part to keep plastic bags from making their way into landfills and oceans and the bellies of endangered turtles, here are seven tips for shopping under the plastic bag ban.

1. Stock up on at least five good tote bags for routine use and a handful of reusable plastic bags just in case.
2. Store the bags in your car. A side door panel is great place to store them because, if you are like me and store them in the trunk, you’ll forget to take them in the store.
3. Or, put bags on your shopping list, so you won’t get to the register before realizing you left the bags in the car.
4. Get in the habit of returning the bags to the car as soon as you unload your purchases. If you store them in the house, you’ll forget them when you need them.
5. If you do forget the bags in the car, don’t be shy about telling the cashier you need to run and grab them. This is going to be a really common problem while people get used to the ban.
6. Keep separate bags for meats because they tend to leak and can spread bacteria such as salmonella.
7. Wash the totes and occasionally replace the plastic reusables.

Photo: Keng Susumpow via flickr.com