March 16, 2017
by Kimberly Stempien
Courtesy: Plastic Bag Laws
New York City’s OneNYC plan includes a commitment to send zero waste to landfills by 2030. It’s an ambitious goal, and to see it achieved, plastics must be greatly reduced in the waste stream.
In late 2016, the city council approved a bill to implement a plastic bag fee. Described as a BYOBag law, the legislation called for a 5 cent fee on single-use plastic and paper carryout bags at retail outlets. Consumers could avoid the fee by shopping with their own reusable bags. The bill was slated to be implemented on February 15, 2017; however, due to opposition in the state senate and a final veto from Governor Andrew Cuomo, the law was vetoed a day before it was due to take effect. Although the Governor appears to be in favor of the bill, he believes it needs to be revised, and promised to form “a statewide task force to develop a uniform state plan for addressing the plastic bag problem, complete with local leaders, other stakeholders and leaders appointed by the Senate and the Assembly.”
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