I've seen this in work in San Francisco and Washington, D.C., and I must say I think the Plastic Bag Bill is one of the best ways we everyday people can help the environment. (My old cat Troy was terrified of them -- maybe he was a green kitty!)
The mayor said today:
“In OneNYC, my Administration committed to sending Zero Waste to landfills by 2030 – a bold, necessary and achievable goal in pursuit of a more sustainable New York City. Achieving Zero Waste includes significantly reducing the use of plastic bags, which have long clogged our water system, gotten stuck in our trees and littered our city. The Council’s legislation strikes the right balance, reducing reliance on single-use bags and incentivizing the use of reusable bags, while safeguarding consumers with some logical exemptions to protect vulnerable New Yorkers. The Department of Sanitation projects that this five cent fee could reduce plastic and paper bag waste by approximately 60 percent, based on the experiences of other cities. I congratulate the Council on the bill’s passage and look forward to signing it. Successfully implementing the legislation and dramatically reducing the use of plastic bags will also require close coordination between the City and our local businesses. That’s why I’m so pleased to partner with the Food Industry Alliance and New York Metropolitan Retail Association, representing New York City’s largest retailers and grocery stores, to distribute reusable bags to New Yorkers upon enactment of this legislation.”UPDATE: The bill passed 28-20.
2 comments:
It is actually much simpler than this - STOP MANUFACTURING THEM! Go back to paper bags - what the fuck is wrong with everyone?
Interesting to see how local governments are dealing in different ways with plastic bags. Chicago banned single-use bags at larger stores last year, and the ban affects smaller stores (convenience stores, for instance) next year. It doesn't look to me like it's reduced the use of plastic bags, though. The stores simply started using thicker plastic bags that adhere to the letter of the law but not the spirit, and I still see most customers leaving the stores with multiple plastic bags that will end up in landfill. This has prompted the city council to consider revising the "ban" and adding a tax or fee for plastic bags – the current rule isn't having the desired effect.
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