What's happening
This bill prohibits green or brown tinted plastic bags unless they are compostable, to help enforce bag waste reduction.
Why it matters
Helps consumers and waste managers easily identify compostable bags. by reserving green and brown tints for certified compostable plastics, reducing confusion in sorting and disposal processes.
Discourages the misleading marketing or use of non-compostable plastic bags. as environmentally friendly, since only compostable bags can use these common "eco" colors.
Supports better compliance and enforcement of bag waste reduction laws. , making it harder for retailers and manufacturers to pass off non-compostable bags as exempt or environmentally preferable.
May encourage increased adoption of compostable bag alternatives. as businesses seek to retain green/brown color branding, indirectly promoting more sustainable bag options.
Albany, before your first meeting.
Every bill that moved yesterday, summarized in a sentence and ranked by impact. The Albany Scorecard follows on Sundays.
Free. Unsubscribe in one click. Want alerts on specific bills? Create an account.
Who cares
Headline styles
Only Compostable Bags Green or Brown
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to environmental conservation
- Referred to environmental conservation
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Limit Bag Colors to Compostables
In Assembly Committee · Environmental Conservation · Sponsor Amy Paulin
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1260
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 8, 2025
Introduced by Sen. MAY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Environmental Conservation
AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to limiting tinted green and brown to compostable plastic bags for the purposes of bag waste reduction
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 27-2801 of the environmental conservation law, as added by section 2 of part H of chapter 58 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
1. "Exempt bag" means a bag: (a) used solely to contain or wrap uncooked meat, fish, or poultry; (b) bags used by a customer solely to package bulk items such as fruits, vegetables, grains, or candy; (c) bags used solely to contain food sliced or prepared to order; (d) bags used solely to contain a newspaper for delivery to a subscriber; (e) bags sold in bulk to a consumer at the point of sale; (f) trash bags; (g) food storage bags; (h) garment bags; (i) bags prepackaged for sale to a customer; (j) plastic carryout bags provided by a restaurant, tavern or similar food service establishment, as defined in the state sanitary code, to carryout or deliver food; or (k) bags provided by a pharmacy to carry prescription drugs; provided however, that an exempt bag shall not be tinted green or brown unless it is a compostable plastic bag as defined in subdivision one of section 27-2701 of this article.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03325-01-5
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to limiting tinted green and brown to compostable plastic bags for the purposes of bag waste reduction
Purpose
To ensure that an exempt bag, as defined in the environmental conserva- tion law, shall not be tinted brown or green unless it is a compostable bag.
Summary of provisions
Section one amends section 27-2801 of the environmental conservation law to provide that an exempt bag shall not be tinted green or brown unless it is a compostable bag.
Section two provides the effective date.
Justification
As more reports of global warming, extreme weather events, and general statements of environmental peril appear in our everyday lives, many consumers have made efforts to "go green" by looking to purchase products in environmentally friendly packaging and bags. Unfortunately, some manufacturers and stores have used this to deceive consumers into buying products that appear "green" or "eco-friendly" but are not.
One example of this deception is where plastic bags are tinted green or brown in order to misrepresent the product as "natural" or "eco-friend- ly." Consumers may then think that the bags are environmentally friendly when in fact they are just colored plastic bags.
As green and brown tinted bags are also the color of most compostable bags, consumers may think that the bags are acceptable to include in a compost bin. Commercial composting facilities and farms that transform food scraps into compost then have to pick these bags out of their compost piles which is costly and inconvenient. As food scrap recycling and composting initiatives are spreading throughout New York, allowing only compostable bags to be tinted green or brown will support the successful growth of these programs throughout our State.
This bill would limit the list of exempt bags in Title 28 of the envi- ronmental conservation law to ensure that any exempt bag shall not be tinted green or brown unless it is a compostable bag. Companies need to be honest and transparent with consumers about the environmental impact of their products. This legislation takes an important step in protect- ing consumers from deceptive marketing tactics so they can better under- stand the environmental impact of the products they choose to buy.
Fiscal impact
To be determined.
Legislative history
2023-2024: S.2071 (May) / A.4144 (Paulin)
2021-2022: S.8613 (May) / A.8428 (Paulin)
Effective date
Immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.