State law likely to overturn NYC’s plastic bag fee proposal

ALBANY (Scrap Monster):  The New York City Council’s plan to impose 5-cent fee on plastic bags is likely to be toppled by a state legislation that proposes prohibition of collection of such fees across the state. The state bill is expected to be approved by the Senate today. A similar bill is under process in the Assembly as well. The Senate bill is sponsored by Sen. Simcha Felder (D-Brooklyn), whereas the Assembly bill is sponsored by Michael Cusick (D-Staten Island). Meantime, several green groups have raised opposition against the move to repeal NYC’s plastic-bag fee.

According to Sen. Simcha Felder, the bag fee will put extra burden on people, who are already stressed by many other charges imposed on them. He expressed the hope that the legislation would be passed overwhelmingly. Also, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) stated that the hose would try to pass the legislation to outlaw plastic bag fee collection before the current Legislature session, scheduled to come to an end on June 16^th. Discussions with City Council have revealed that a few city members themselves were concerned about the Council bill. Meantime, Michael Cusick expressed hope that the bill would be passed by the chamber with good majority.

The NY City Council had approved the bag-fee proposal during end-May. The NY City Council Sanitation Committee had earlier voted in favor of the legislation, with only single no vote.

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 legislation also proposes to conduct a study on the impact of bag-fee on low-income communities. The 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 will be 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 is not to institute the fee but to reduce the amount of bags used by consumers. This in turn would lead to a cleaner NY city, by forcing shoppers to bring reusable bags to stores. According to the Council, plastic bag fees implemented elsewhere in the country has led to dramatic reduction in plastic bag usage.

Several environmental and community groups had extended full support to the bill. According to them, the decision to impose fee on bags is an environmentally conscious action that would help create more sustainable city. The move would ensure that the place would remain safe for generations to come, they said.

On the other hand, critics of the bill argue that the five-cent fees would turn out to be a burden for low-income families, who are already burdened with high cost-of-living. According to them, it is better to place the fees on retailers rather than forcing city residents to pay for the same.

The bag fee would have come into effect beginning October this year. The City was also planning to organize awareness campaigns and give away reusable bags to residents during the period leading to the ban.