Requires the collection and deposit of a five cent charge for each plastic bag provided by a retailer to its customers and a five cent charge on each piece of plastic film shipped to the state; repealer

Summary of provisions

Section 1. Paragraphs 4, 5, and 6 of section 27-2701 of the environmental conservation law are amended and two new subdivisions 7 and 8 are added.

Paragraph 4. Amends the definition of plastic carryout bag to specify that it means a 'single use' plastic carryout bag which is 2.25 mm thick or less, has handles, is intended for the purpose of carrying purchased items and is provided to a customer at the point of sale. This amended definition does not include sandwich bags or handless produce bags.

Paragraph 5. Amends the definition of durable reusable bag to have the specifications include that the bag must be more than 2.25 mm thick, carry a minimum of 20 pounds a minimum of one half mile for at least 50 walking trips. Reusable bags for containing food items may not contain toxic materials or other potential food contaminants.

Paragraph 6. Amends the size of the store that must comply with these plastic bag requirements. The store size will be reduced from ten to five thousand square feet of retail space, or stores with a similar business with five or more locations and common ownership and management that are more than three thousand square feet of retail space. This paragraph continues by exempting restaurants and businesses which offer primarily prepared foods.

Paragraph 7. Creates a new paragraph to define plastic film for dry cleaning, shrink wrap for protection when shipping or bags to contain or cover other non-food items.

Paragraph 8. Creates a new paragraph 8 to define 'deposit initiator' for each plastic bag or plastic film for which a charge is established by a retailer who provides plastic bags to its customers and any corporation that ships items to the state in plastic film under section 27-2713 of this article.

Section 2. Amends paragraphs 2 and 3 of section 27-2705 which requires a store operator to provide an at store recycling program. Paragraph 2 is amended to include all stores in the plastic bin recycling program.

Paragraph 3 is amended to require stores to accept clean plastic film in the recycling bins.

Section 3. Repeals section 27-2713 of the Environmental Conservation Law which preempts local laws pertaining to bag recycling and creates three new sections detailing the bag deposit process. The new section 27-2713 paragraph 1 requires a five cent per bag charge be imposed by retailers providing single use carry out bags to its customers. Compostable, biodegradable bags are exempt from this charge.

Paragraph 2 of the new 27-2713 will create a charge of five cents per piece of plastic film used to ship items to the state. This charge will be imposed by the entity shipping items to the state and shall appear as a separate charge on the shipping invoice.

Paragraph 3 of the new 27-2713 shall specify how the five cent charge shall be allocated. Two cents will be retained by the retailer and the remaining three cents shall be deposited in a plastic bag and film account. One of the three cents will be used to maintain state parks and the remaining two cents shall be used to expand the recycling program through public education and for the support of retailers in obtaining bins and or signage for the program.

Section 4. Effective date.

Justification

Plastic bags are made from petroleum which is harmful to the environment and can have a lifespan of 1000 years.

According to the Department of Natural Resources in Wisconsin, Americans use 100 billion plastic bags every year. The Environmental Protection Agency reports only 5.2 percent of all plastic bags used are currently being recycled, meaning the rest find their way to landfills, streets, our oceans and waterways. With such a small percentage being recycled, it is obvious that most people are not utilizing this program.

While the efforts of the New York State Legislature have increased awareness of the problem, the current plastic bag recycling program doesn't go far enough to address this pollution problem. This bill will incentivize the use of reusable shopping bags and the five cent per bag charge will provide a funding stream to increase awareness and assist retailers in providing the proper recycling receptacles to consumers.

The most environmentally friendly option is the reusable bag because they can be washed and reused countless times. Hopefully, this five cent fee will encourage more individuals to begin using reusable bags or, at a minimum, make sure that their one time use bags are returned to the recycling bins available at retail establishments throughout the state.

Fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

This act shall take effect on April 1, 2015.