NY City Council Approves Plastic Bag Recycling Bill

January 14, 2008

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The New York City Council passed a bill by the margin of 44-2 that requires large stores and retail chains to collect and recycle plastic bags, reports the New York Times. The legislation, which applies to stores of 5,000 square feet or more, requires stores that give the bags to customers to provide recycling bins in prominent places. It will take effect six months after Mayor Bloomberg signs it, which he’s expected to do.Consumers can drop off bags from any store, not just the one where the bin is located, but the Department of Sanitation will not be collecting them. Instead, stores will have to contract to have them removed. The article claims that New Yorkers use one billion plastic bags a year.

When Ms. Quinn, who is considering a mayoral run in 2009, introduced the bill in October, it seemed the issue would be a hot one, especially since John Castimatidis, the Gristedes supermarket magnate who is also considering a run for mayor, opposed it. But the criticism faded when the bill received support from The Food Industry Alliance, which represents 750 supermarkets in the city, and Progressive Bag Affiliates, a trade group that represents plastic bag manufacturers.

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Reader Comments

Recycling is a last ditch effort to reduce impact, but it’s no substitute for a good dose of prevention like bringing your own bag! EPA website: “A sturdy, reusable bag needs only be used 11 times to have a lower environmental impact than using 11 disposable plastic bags.” The EPA website reveals only one percent of plastic bags were recycled and 20 percent of paper bags were recycled. If you found this information useful, you should know there’s a blog for people who want to be entertained and informed about the bag crisis: http://www.BagMonsterBusters dot com Join the movement to adopt a healthy reusable ChicoBag habit: Become a Bag Monster Buster. Single-use bags are the poster child of wastefulness and they are creating Bag Monsters. You might have one under your kitchen sink… you know… the bag of bags you never get around to recycling? Yeah. Those ones. They’re coming to life and exacting revenge over what they deem “discriminatory bag bans.” See what I mean at http://www.BagMonster dot com. Stay strong, and always roll with a reusable ChicoBag!

Bag Monster Buster | January 28th, 2008