New York Searching for Answers in Combating Plastic Bag Waste

SEATTLE (Waste Advantage): It’s not just consumers. Recycling plastic bags for many retailers has proven difficult. To help with this problem, the New York Plastic Bag Task Force has identified eight possible solutions and sent the report to Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature for consideration.

State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos said it would take several years to determine the impact if one of these solutions were to become law.

“The group was fairly adamant that that fee would have to go in to a fund that would then be in turn used for waste reduction paying back out to the counties and towns for environmental purposes,” said Seggos. “There would be a feedback loop on any research done based on those funds spent.”

Seggos said they need to continue working on education and outreach. The current focus is to emphasize utilizing reusable bags. While stores like Wegmans have made reusable bags available for cheap near the front of their store, they haven’t significantly cut in to the number of plastic bags that get used once and then are thrown away.

“I think we’ve had a robust discussion this year with retailers,” said Seggos. “Getting them to the table. Hearing from them about their concerns. In some respect, many of these bags that come back from recycling are unrecyclable because they are dirty. There needs to be more done.”

23 billion plastic bags are used across New York State annually. Seggos believes there needs to be an aggressive review of this by the legislature.

“Some communities have done phasing periods,” said Seggos. “For example, where you try out the solution over the course of a year or two and see what the results have been in terms of the waste elimination and consumer receptivity. There may be a hybrid approach where you don’t have a permanent solution in mind. Perhaps a temporary solution and you gauge its effectiveness.”

Courtesy: https://wasteadvantagemag.com