New York law prohibiting plastic bags: details

The new law will reduce the amount of waste, greenhouse gas emissions and protect the environment for future generations.

Фото: Depositphotos

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo on Earth Day signed a law that prohibits the sale of disposable plastic bags in New York starting in March 2020. This is stated on governor site.

This law is a significant step to reduce pollution, as well as to protect fish and wildlife.

Plastic bags do not decompose and often become rubbish on land and in water, causing damage to birds and wild animals in nature that swallow plastic. It is estimated that New Yorkers use 23 billion plastic bags per year, while nationwide studies show that approximately 50 percent of disposable plastic bags fall into the trash.

Фото: Depositphotos

In addition to preventing the formation of garbage from plastic bags in our environment, this ban will also help reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production and recycling of plastic bags: from oil used to make bags to emissions from transporting bags to garbage dumps.

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“You see plastic bags hanging from trees, flying through the streets, in landfills and in the water, and there is no doubt that they are causing tremendous damage,” Governor Cuomo said. — 12 million barrels of oil are used to produce plastic bags each year, and by 2050 there will be more plastic by weight in the oceans than fish. We need to stop using plastic bags and today we did that.”

Фото: Depositphotos

In March 2017, Governor Cuomo set up a plastic bag task force in New York State. Task Force on several occasions met to develop a common, comprehensive and just solution to this problem. The final report analyzed the impact of disposable plastic bags and provided several legislative options that can help develop a statewide solution to the problem.

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A signed law prohibits the provision of disposable plastic bags for carrying at any point of sale. According to the new law, bags for clothes, garbage and any bags used for packing or storing certain products, such as fruits and sliced ​​meat, are not prohibited.

Фото: Depositphotos

Counties or cities would also be able to charge five cents for single-use paper bags, three cents of which would go to the Environmental Defense Fund and two cents would pay for distributing reusable bags.

Environmentalists and grocery store lobbyists have expressed concern that shoppers will increasingly use free paper bags, which are more expensive to transport and store, or thicker plastic bags that are not banned.

In 2015, Chicago banned the use of plastic bags, but after 16 months, canceled it in favor of collecting 7 cents.

New York has now joined the California, which banned the bags in 2016 year. All districts in Hawaii also have a similar ban.

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