More Communities Opt To Charge Fee For Plastic Bags: POLL

While the state of New York failed to take up a proposal to impose a fee on plastic bags during the last legislative session in Albany, communities in the state continues to advance the cause of reining in single-use plastic bags for shopping. Gov. Andrew Cuomo proposed a bill in April that would have banned giving out single-use, plastic carryout bags at any point of sale, with the exceptions being bags used to wrap or contain certain foods, trash bags and garment bags.

Cuomo said at the time, “The blight of plastic bags takes a devastating toll on our streets, our water and our natural resources, and we need to take action to protect our environment.”

Well, nothing ever came of the proposal. Similar proposals in both the Senate and Assembly never got out of committee.

However, one Hudson Valley community has recently taken the plunge about requiring a fee for plastic or paper bags and another is exploring a revival of a previously scrapped plan.

The Town of Bedford approved an ordinance requiring retailers of 5,000 square feet or more to charge 5 cents per paper or plastic bags. It takes effect in April 2019.

That would affect shoppers at such stores as CVS, Key Foods, Kohl’s and ShopRite, tapinto.net said.

The Town of Mamaroneck tabled a draft law in 2013 that would have imposed a fee on plastic or paper bags within the town.

Over the past year and a half, the town board has been working on a draft law similar to the one it scrapped because the town was threatened with a lawsuit.

The neighboring Village of Larchmont has had a ban on non-biodegradable plastic bags since 2013.

Currently, there are 10 cities, towns and villages in New York that have bans that are currently enforced.

After years of discussion, a law went into effect Jan. 1, 2018, in Suffolk County on Long Island that requires retailers to charge a minimum fee of 5 cents on paper or plastic carryout bags.

The Town of New Castle’s reusable bag law went into effect Jan. 1, 2017, which eliminated the distribution of single-use plastic carryout bags at such retailers as grocery stores, convenience stores and pharmacies.

The New Castle Sustainability Committee said single-use paper bags were as bad or worse for the environment.

The committee found that plastic carryout bags clog storm drains, contribute to climate change, create unsightly litter, harm wildlife and pollute the oceans and waterways.

They said that single-use paper bags generate two times the carbon footprint and create four times the waste of plastic bags. Paper bags also use 20 times the water to produce as plastic bags.

Not everyone is on board with banning plastic bags at retailers. The popular grocery store chain Wegman’s, which is planning on starting construction of a store this summer in Harrison in Westchester County, gives out plastic bags made from 40 percent recycled plastic that is returned to their stores by customers.

The company was against Cuomo’s ban because it would have, in their estimation, increased the use of paper bags, according to WBEN AM.

What do you think about communities — or even counties and states — banning the use of plastic and paper bags or charging fees for them? Vote in our unscientific poll and tell us what you think in the comments below.

Image via Shutterstock.