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- Since January 1, 2025, California's SB 1046 has required large grocery stores, large retail pharmacies, and convenience and liquor stores with certain alcohol licenses to offer only qualifying compostable bags or recycled paper bags for produce, meat, bulk foods, and other pre-checkout uses.
- A compliant compostable bag must meet California's compostability standards, qualify for a "compostable" or "home compostable" label under state law, and have a mouth at least 15 inches wide.
- SB 1046 remains in force and unchanged. Two 2026 bills that would have altered it, a repeal (AB 2226) and a ban on compostable plastic products (AB 1812), did not advance.
- The key date ahead is June 30, 2027, when CalRecycle's extension for AB 1201's USDA organic-input labeling condition currently expires. CalRecycle may renew it under set conditions, but not beyond January 1, 2031. The outcome will shape which compostable bags keep their label eligibility.
- REGENPLAST lists compostable produce-bag options alongside other material options, including PCR. Before sale in California, SB 1046 compliance should be confirmed for each specific compostable product, including mouth width, certification, and labeling eligibility.
SB 1046 (Chapter 991, Statutes of 2022) was signed in September 2022 and took effect on January 1, 2025. It regulates what the law calls "pre-checkout bags." These are bags a shopper gets before paying. They keep one item from leaking onto others, or they hold food with no packaging of its own. Common examples are loose fruit and vegetables, raw meat and fish, nuts, grains, candy, and bakery items.
Under the law, covered stores can hand out only two kinds of pre-checkout bags. The first is a compostable bag that meets every state requirement. The second is a recycled paper bag. Shoppers are still free to bring their own bags or containers, and the state encourages it.
The rule reaches three groups of stores. These are full-line grocery stores with at least $2 million in annual sales, retail pharmacies of 10,000 square feet or more, and convenience and liquor stores holding a Type 20 or Type 21 alcohol license.
A compostable pre-checkout bag has to clear three checks. First, it must meet California's compostability standards under Public Resources Code (PRC) section 42357.5. These standards rely on ASTM test methods and third-party certification. Second, it must be eligible for a "compostable" or "home compostable" label under PRC section 42357. That labeling rule was updated by AB 1201, a 2021 California law that also added a requirement tied to the USDA National Organic Program (NOP), explained below. Third, the bag's opening must be at least 15 inches wide.
SB 1046 also targets look-alike bags. A plastic pre-checkout or carryout bag that is not eligible for a "compostable" or "home compostable" label may not use green, beige, or brown coloring in a way that implies compostability. State law treats that kind of coloring as an implied claim that the bag will break down. For buyers, this means size, color, and labeling matter as much as the material itself.
One more point for buyers: a bag a store may lawfully hand out under SB 1046 is not necessarily accepted by every local organics collection program. CalRecycle notes that most California jurisdictions do not allow compostable plastic film bags in organics bins. Customers should follow their local collection guidance.
In 2026, two bills tried to change SB 1046 from opposite directions. AB 2226 would have repealed the law entirely. That would have let conventional plastic produce bags return to stores. AB 1812 would have banned the sale of "compostable" or "home compostable" products made fully or partly of plastic. If enacted as proposed, AB 1812 would likely have removed most plastic-containing compostable produce bags from SB 1046's compliance path. Stores would then have relied far more on recycled paper bags.
Neither bill moved forward. AB 2226 was withdrawn in late April 2026 amid stakeholder opposition. AB 1812 missed a key appropriations deadline in August 2026. SB 1031, a related bill on compostable labeling, stalled at the same point.
As a result, SB 1046 heads into 2027 unchanged. Both compliance paths, compostable bags and recycled paper bags, remain open. The requirements described above still define what a compliant compostable bag looks like. For stores and suppliers, that means they can keep planning around the current rules.
For now, the compostable path under SB 1046 is open. Compostable bags that meet California's requirements remain a valid option at the produce counter. A few dates and decisions ahead will shape how that path develops.
The first is June 30, 2027, which links to SB 1046's labeling requirement. AB 1201 added a condition to California's "compostable" label: the product must also be an "allowable agricultural organic input" under the USDA National Organic Program (NOP). The NOP is the USDA program that sets standards for organic production, including which substances and inputs may be used in certified organic agriculture.
Many compostable plastics, including PLA- and PHA-based materials, are not currently allowable agricultural organic inputs under the NOP. CalRecycle has therefore granted an extension for products containing synthetic substances that otherwise meet California's requirements for a lawful "compostable" label. The extension currently expires on June 30, 2027. CalRecycle may renew the extension while relevant federal regulations are under consideration, but no renewal may extend beyond January 1, 2031.
Federal work on this question is still moving. In January 2026, the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB), which advises the NOP, voted against adding broad classes of synthetic compostable materials to the NOP's National List. At the same time, the board left room to review specific materials and narrower uses, such as bags for collecting food scraps. BPI (Biodegradable Products Institute) is also urging USDA to clarify how compost is defined under federal organic rules.
How these steps play out will decide whether compostable plastic produce bags keep their labeling eligibility after mid-2027. If eligibility lapses without a renewal, a bag that can no longer be lawfully labeled "compostable" or "home compostable" would fall outside SB 1046's compostable-bag pathway. Recycled paper bags would remain available either way.
New legislation is the second thing to watch. BPI called this year's outcome "a major, but short-term, accomplishment," and similar bills could return in the 2027 session. On enforcement, CalRecycle does not enforce the bag requirements directly. Cities, counties, and the California Attorney General's office hold that authority.
For suppliers to California grocers, REGENPLAST lists compostable produce-bag options alongside other material options, including PCR. Before sale in California, suppliers should confirm SB 1046 compliance for each specific compostable product. That check covers mouth width, applicable compostability standards and third-party certification, labeling eligibility, and other California requirements. Suppliers should also keep monitoring developments involving SB 1046, AB 1201, USDA/NOP standards, and CalRecycle guidance.
[References]
California Legislative Information, "SB-1046 Solid waste: precheckout and carryout bags" (official bill text) → Read the Source
CalRecycle, "Bag Requirements at Grocery and Retail Stores" → Read the Source
BioCycle, "NOSB vote on synthetic compostable products" (January 2026) → Read the Source
Keller and Heckman, "California Delays NOP Requirements for Compostable Products" → Read the Source
BioCycle, "Why California's Next Compostable Packaging Bill Could Stall SB 1046" → Read the Source
Waste Dive, "California compostables bills, opposed by BPI, won't advance" → Read the Source