New York state will wait until April 1 to penalize stores that violate a new ban on single-use plastic bags that is embroiled in litigation, the state’s top environmental official said Friday.
New York will officially prohibit stores from handing out most thin plastic bags starting Sunday. But state Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos said Friday that the state has agreed to delay enforcement as it fights a lawsuit in Albany County court, lodged by a manufacturer of plastic bags and by convenience store owners who call the ban unconstitutional.
An association of 6,000 convenience store owners statewide opposes the state’s efforts to allow stores to hand out only thick, reusable plastic bags that the industry says it can’t yet produce.
“We have consistently said since the beginning of our outreach campaign that we will focus on education rather than enforcement and today does not change that,” Seggos said.
The state has planned to enforce the ban by issuing a warning to retailers who violate the law for the first time. Retailers could eventually face a $250 fine for a subsequent violation, and a $500 fine for violations in the same calendar year.
New York’s ban has also drawn criticism from environmental groups who don’t want New York to allow any plastic bags at all.
The law passed last April bars many types of businesses from using the thin plastic bags that have been clogging up landfills, getting tangled in trees and accumulating in lakes and seas. Single-use paper bags will still be allowed, but counties have the option of imposing a 5-cent fee.
New York’s ban exempts bags used for restaurant takeout food, plastic bags used to wrap meat, and bags used for prepared food.
State environmental officials are encouraging New Yorkers to start using reusable bags often made out of canvas or polyester. The state said it has purchased over a quarter-million reusable bags to give out to food pantries and shelters.
(AP)
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4 Responses
I heard a good line “There will come a time when someone will be caught with a bag of” Hard Core Drugs ” and will be arrested ONLY FOR THE BAG!!! INSANITY
To me it seems like a real nuisance and like Simcha Felder stated when he was empowered that this is but another tax! It is! I walked out of a store this morning carrying a bottle of milk and a bread, a cottage cheese and a dozen eggs in my hands because the proprietor would not offer a bag. I was not going to spend 20 cents to buy the 3 bag package they were peddling for 25 cents. It’s a stupid law and it’s an unnecessary and ridiculous burden upon already heavily taxed. The proof that it’s a tax is that Food Stamp customers can get their bags for free. Stupid and selfish NY Democrats.
Keep voting for DemocRATs, tipshim. You get what you vote for. You get what you deserve. Bag fees. High tolls on public thruways. High property taxes + your Mansion Tax if you buy a larger house. These New York DemocRATs have you by the xxxxs.
New Yorkers should just get over the fact that they will need to buy bags. Here in Israel and other parts of the World we have had to deal with the reusable bags for a while. You New Yorkers will just have to get used to it, and stop complaining because it is happening.