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Waste & Recycling February 15, 2017 11:30:18 AM

New York blocks “Deeply Flawed” 5-cent Plastic Bag Fee

Paul Ploumis
ScrapMonster Author
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed a bill that blocks imposition of 5-cent fee on plastic and paper disposable bags.

New York blocks “Deeply Flawed” 5-cent Plastic Bag Fee

ALBANY (Scrap Monster): New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed a bill that blocks imposition of 5-cent fee on plastic and paper disposable bags. The city law was due to take effect on Wednesday. By signing the bill, the Mayor has forbidden the city from placing fees on disposable plastic shopping bags until at least next year. Citing the legislation as “deeply flawed”, Cuomo pointed out that it would allow store owners to keep the profit.

Mayor Cuomo stated that financial and environmental costs associated with plastic bags offset the convenience offered by them. New York, along with other states, is currently struggling with the environmental impact of plastic bags. The bill allows merchants to keep the collected 5-cent fee as their profit, which essentially could have used to fund programs aimed at reducing the environmental impacts caused by them, Mayor noted. By allowing retailers to keep the fee, the bill has offered too much of a financial windfall to businesses, he added.

The opponents of the moratorium including New York City Governor Bill de Blasio termed the moratorium on fees as a mistake. The five-cent fee was proposed so as to benefit the environment by forcing change in people’s behavior, he noted. The NYC Council spokeswoman Robin Levine accused state legislature and Mayor Cuomo for imposing their will over that of the City Council. The architects of the city’s plastic bag fee bill- Brooklyn Councilman Brad Lander and Manhattan Councilwoman Margaret Chin accused Gov. Cuomo for blocking the fee.

Meantime, Cuomo announced that a task force would be soon created to formulate a unified statewide plan to deal with plastic bags and address their environmental concerns. The task force will be required to submit a report and propose new legislation by the end of this year.

During last week, lawmakers from both parties had voted to delay imposition of fees. The legislation to postpone implementation of fee was passed by Senate and Assembly last Monday and Tuesday respectively, citing that the legislation would put extra burden on lower-income people, who are already stressed by many other charges imposed on them. Shortly after the bill was passed, state lawmakers had drafted the legislation to halt the implementation of the bill for one year, which was sent for Mayor’s approval.

The original legislation had proposed a fee of 10-cents per bag. But this was later reduced to 5 cents after a year of talks, in an attempt to gain Council support. The revised bill authorizes grocery stores to charge five cents for each single-use plastic or paper carryout bag given away at counters. Groceries with food stamp are exempted from the fee. Also, customers will not be charged by restaurants for bags used for takeout food. The 5-cent fee will not be applicable to thin plastic bags for produce and meat, and medicine bags at pharmacy counters.

Estimates suggest that New York residents throw away nearly 9.3 billion plastic bags every year. These bags lead to severe environmental issues by clogging storm drains and littering greenspaces. The primary aim of the bill was not to institute the fee but to reduce the amount of bags used by consumers. It was designed to create a cleaner NY city, by forcing shoppers to bring reusable bags to stores. The supporters of the bill had argued that plastic bag fees implemented elsewhere in the country has led to dramatic reduction in plastic bag usage.

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