The plastic bag ban in New York has officially begun on March 1st, 2020. Stores will no longer be allowed to give out plastic bags to customers. However, the new ban is not enforceable until April 1st.
How will this affect shopping in New York State?
Why is There a Plastic Bag Ban?
Unless you have been living under a rock, it is a well-known fact that our world is being polluted by plastic products at an alarming rate. Plastic objects are finding their ways into our trees, forests, streets, and most importantly our oceans.
The plastic bag ban was designed with this idea in place. Each year in just New York State, 23 billion plastic bags are used. And many of those bags are thrown away incorrectly.
Plastic bags are known as single-use plastics. This is a term that references a plastic object that only has one use and is then discarded. Others include plastic utensils, cups, bottles, and the list goes on.
How Will This Affect Shoppers?
Without a doubt, most consumers have become reliant on plastic bags when they go shopping. Now that stores are unable to provide these cheap bags to customers, they will now be switching to paper bags, which will charge customers 5 cents each.
Alternatively, customers are encouraged to bring their own bags when shopping. There are plenty of reusable bags that you can purchase. One of the best examples are the thermal bags that are designed to keep hot products warm and frozen products cool.
These can be reused over and over again and there are much simpler bags as well.
Exemptions
While most retail stores will not be able to give out plastic bags anymore, there were a handful of exemptions.
Plastic bags used for raw meat, prescription drugs, and dry cleaning are still allowed under the ban, so nothing will change on that end.
