California suspends 10-cent grocery bag charge amid virus

Kathleen Ronayne

The Associated Press

Californians won’t be charged 10 cents per bag at the grocery store, and retailers can again hand out thinner, single-use plastic bags under an executive order signed Thursday, April 23, by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

It’s a change that retailers have wanted for weeks, as many major grocery chains have stopped letting customers bring in reusable bags over fears of spreading the new coronavirus. California, which has some of the nation’s strictest laws aimed at reducing plastic waste, banned stores from handing out single-use plastic bags and required them to charge...