New York bans plastic bags

On Tuesday, 23 April New York governor Andrew Cuomo signed a state-wide ban on single-use plastic bags. According to Forbes, New York uses 23-billion plastic bags a year, with half of this number ending up as either pollution or in landfills.

The new legislation comes after Cuomo implemented the New York State Plastic Bag Task Force in March 2017. The team developed a long-term solution to the Big Apple’s plastic bag problem. The task force was led by the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner, Basil Seggos.

The report states, ‘It is important to reduce waste regardless of where it comes from, and despite efforts by New York State to require recycling of these single-use plastic bags by certain stores, the problems have persisted.’

It continues, ‘The New York City Department of Sanitation estimates that it collects an average of 1,700 tonnes of plastic bags per week, costing $12.5-million annually in disposal costs.’

The legislation will take effect in March 2020. New York is the third American state to ban plastic bags, after Hawaii and California. The state will also implement a 5-cents fee on paper bags in addition to the plastic bag ban.

Read the full report created by the task force team here.

Image source: Unsplash

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