Goodbye to plastic bags in New York
throughout the State of New York are used 23 billion plastic bags a year (data from the New York State Department of Environment and Conservation): “The plastic bags they can get tangled up in trees, as well as generate waste in our neighborhoods and float in our streams (…) the negative impact of plastic bags is easily visible”.
That is why this Department has managed to implement the Plastic Bag Waste Reduction Act in one of the most populous states in the country. "Whether it's at the grocery store, fashion store, or home improvement store, make sure to bring reusable bags ”, they advise from the Environment.
This implies that New York stores won't have free to-go bags (With exceptions such as pharmacies, bags for fruits and vegetables... singularities collected here in the Bag Exemptions section). And that, in addition, they are obliged to implement a system for collecting and recycling plastic bags bring your customers.
Law affects all merchants in New York State who are required to pay taxes. This regulation requires sell paper bags in stores for 5 cents a bag . Of course: “Some stores may choose not to switch to paper bags and may sell single use bags (fabric, for example) for which the State does not set a price, ”reports the statement on the official website of the City of New York.
Those companies or organizations with activities exempt from paying fees (for example, food distribution associations, etc.), they can give free bags but not plastic.
“The cities and territories must benefit from a payment system of five cents per paper bag. It means that, in these areas, the trader will pay a fee of five cents per takeaway paper bag, which will be paid by the consumer ”, as indicated by the Department of the Environment.
The way to avoid payment is to encourage movement 'Bring your own bag' (bring your own bag), an awareness campaign that is collected under the hashtags #BYOBagNY and the Twitter account BringYourOwnBag whose motto is "Five cents for the future of New York".
In addition, in these first months of implementation of the regulations, the State Department of Sanitation will distribute free reusable bags in some shops.
ALTERNATIVES TO PLASTIC BAGS
The ideal bag should be “washable and designed for multiple uses” , confirm sources from the Department of the Environment. Namely, cloth bags they become the best ally of New Yorkers.
The New York State Department of Health It has even created a guide with tips to clean our reusable bags and thus avoid any type of food contamination, infections... Under the name “ Reusable food bags: a smart choice but use them safely” , this very complete script informs citizens about how to carry raw meat, frozen meat... even how and when to wash these bags.
Goodbye to plastic bags in New York