New York May Ban Some Plastic Bags

NEW YORK, NY — New York State may soon ban plastic bags if Andrew Cuomo gets his way. Citing their danger to the environment, the Democratic governor introduced a bill Monday that would bar stores from giving the ubiquitous totes to customers with a purchase starting next year.

"As the old proverb goes: 'We did not inherit the earth, we are merely borrowing it from our children,' and with this action we are helping to leave a stronger, cleaner and greener New York for all," Cuomo said in a statement.

Cuomo's proposal comes a little over a year after he blocked New York City from implementing a five-cent fee for plastic bags.

The bill contains several exceptions. Shoppers could still use plastic bags to take out their trash or carry fruit, vegetables or meat. Restaurants could still use them for takeout orders. And it would remain legal to sell plastic bags in bulk.

But the narrow ban would still "result in a significant reduction of waste," mitigate environmental harm from the bags and save money, according to a memo accompanying the bill.

Single-use carry-out bags account for 91,000 tons of garbage in New York City each year that costs $12.5 million annually to dispose of outside the city, according to a January state Department of Environmental Conservation report on plastic bags.

The city tried to do just that by imposing a five-cent fee on the bags that would have gone into effect in August of last year. But Cuomo signed legislation blocking the law in February 2017, calling the city's approach to the problem "deeply flawed."

The state reportedly first said it was considering a ban after Mayor Bill de Blasio proposed one last month. The state plastic-bag report — which Cuomo commissioned after blocking the city's law — listed a ban among several ways of addressing the issue.

New York would be the second state to ban plastic bags statewide. California voters approved a similar prohibition on carry-out plastic bags in November 2016. There's no statewide ban in Hawaii, but the state's most populous counties have barred the bags.

Cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco and Austin, Texas also have bans in place, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

(Lead image: Photo from Shutterstock.com)