NYS Plastic Bag Ban

It’s a time to celebrate! Bring your own bag (#BYOBagNY) when you visit retailers, as the single use plastic bag ban will now be enforced.

“New Yorker’s use a staggering amount of plastic bags every year–23 billion in total–each one for about 12 minutes and then 85% of those end up in landfills. They clog up our recycling machines or they’re in our waterways or in our streets and trees.” says, Basil Seggos, NYS DEC Commissioner.

Starting on October 19, 2020 New York now begins enforcing a ban on plastic bags that actually went into effect on March 1st. This far broader ban of plastic bags, replaces an existing law that requires larger retailers to make reusable bags available for purchase. Thin bags are now banned, however, large retailers were to be required to make reusable bags available for purchase (bags thicker than 10 sheets of paper) and this part of the law was recently struck down by a judge.

Single-use paper bags can still be used, however, a 5-cent per bag fee will be charged. Of that fee, 3-cents goes to the state Environmental Protection Fund and the remaining 2-cents goes to the locality to help distribute reusable bags. Retailers also have an option to charge more for bags and pocket the difference.

The DEC has begun reaching out to grocery stores, retailers and others to provide notice of the start of the enforcement period and to answer their questions on how they are to implement the ban.

“Once fully implemented, New Yorkers will see the benefits of this law almost immediately with less plastic bag litter in neighborhoods, parks and rivers,” Judith Enck, president of advocacy group Beyond Plastics and former EPA Regional Administrator, said.

What kind of bags can be used?

Shoppers can bring any kind of bag with them–including any of those thin film, plastic bags they still have lying around–but folks should focus on finding more environmentally friendly bags that allow them to reuse bags for a longer duration. Bags should be washable. Be aware, that if you fail to bring a bag with you–or you notice that your reusable bag suddenly needs repair–the retailer is supposed to have some kind of bag available for you. That would be a single use paper bag (at a minimum 5-cent fee) or a reusable bag (likely, for retail purchase).

Keeping things clean

Take a common sense approach to keeping your bags clean. To reduce the chances of the spread of COVID-19, sequester your bags at the door. Mark or use a different style of bag for use with meat and fish so that they can be laundered more often between uses or, so that you will be aware of cross contamination possibilities.

Exempt bags and doing more

Some bags like those used to carry prescription drugs and produce bags for bulk items, such as fruits and vegetables, can still be used by retailers. However, we recommend that you do your best to say no to those as well. Since you are going to be washing those apples when you get home anyway, why place them in a–still allowable–single use plastic bag? We recommend coming up with your own, reusable produce bags for things like green beans. At a minimum, sequester those fruit bags back into your larger produce tote when you get home and use them again.

Take Action

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