Cuomo is doing his best to rid us of non biodegradable plastic bags in New York. Under his new proposed 2019 executive budget he wants to ban single use bags, and has considered handing out free reusable bags as part of this effort.
Exemptions will be made such as in high risk and low income areas who cannot afford this prohibition. Other plastic bags, such as sandwhich bags and clear thin produce bags for grocery stores will not be included in this bill. New Yorkers use a reported 23 billion plastic bags annually, and the ban will likely bring a resurgence of brown paper bags in supermarkets. An environmental watchdog group has contested that any plastic bag ban should be accompanied with a small fee for use of brown paper bags as well.
The idea behind this legislation is not only to curb littering of these non biodegradable plastics but to also cut down on the fossil fuels required to produce these single use products. Critics of the proposed ban say that paper bags are equally difficult to recycle and aren't as reuse friendly as the traditional plastic shopping bag.
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