New York Plastic Bag Ban Takes Effect

If you head to the supermarket you better BYOB – bring your own bag. The state’s plastic bag ban went into effect on March 1st.

The State DEC is distributing reusable bags to food banks throughout New York State. Feeding Westchester received 5,000 of them. 85-percent of the single-use plastic bags used by New Yorkers every year end up in landfills, recycling machines, waterways and the streets.

DEC Region 3 Regional Director Kelly Turturro says,”It is an estimated 23-billion plastic bags! The fact that really stuck with me…that each of these bags are only used for an average of 12 minutes.”

Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation to ban the sale of single-use plastic bags in New York State on Earth Day, April 22, 2019.

For more information about the plastic bag ban, visit https://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/50034.html.

The DEC says, Governor Cuomo also awarded 4.3 million dollars in grants to more than 100 projects throughout the state to reduce food waste and help hungry New Yorkers.