NYS Recycling Plastic Bags
New York Governor David Paterson signed into law a bill that requires many retail establishments to start programs to collect plastic bags for recycling.
Starting Jan. 1, 2009, large grocery stores and retailers that provide plastic bags will be required to spot bins where customers can place their returned bags.
Judith Enck, New York State’s deputy secretary for the environment, said statistics show that consumers throw away roughly 100 million of the bags nationally every year.
"The bill signed by Gov. Paterson will make it easier for New Yorkers to recycle used plastic bags and encourage greater use of reusable bags," Enck said.
New York's law applies to stores with more than 10,000-square-feet of retail space or those that are part of a chain with more than five stores, each with more than 5,000-square-feet of retail space.
With the new state law, local governments are pre-empted from adopting their own shopping-bag recycling laws.
Numerous municipalities, including New York City, already passed similar legislation and have established recycling programs. The new state law builds on these existing programs, enabling all New York residents to participate.
"This is a significant victory for New York’s citizens and the environment," said Sharon Kneiss, VP of the American Chemistry Council’s Products Divisions. "The new law creates one consistent standard statewide that all municipalities can follow, while allowing existing programs to continue uninterrupted."
According to the APC, the most recent statistics show that the recycling of plastic bags and wraps increased 24 percent in 2006 nationwide.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Read this in our local paper, but found it on "Recycling Today Magazine".
Starting Jan. 1, 2009, large grocery stores and retailers that provide plastic bags will be required to spot bins where customers can place their returned bags.
Judith Enck, New York State’s deputy secretary for the environment, said statistics show that consumers throw away roughly 100 million of the bags nationally every year.
"The bill signed by Gov. Paterson will make it easier for New Yorkers to recycle used plastic bags and encourage greater use of reusable bags," Enck said.
New York's law applies to stores with more than 10,000-square-feet of retail space or those that are part of a chain with more than five stores, each with more than 5,000-square-feet of retail space.
With the new state law, local governments are pre-empted from adopting their own shopping-bag recycling laws.
Numerous municipalities, including New York City, already passed similar legislation and have established recycling programs. The new state law builds on these existing programs, enabling all New York residents to participate.
"This is a significant victory for New York’s citizens and the environment," said Sharon Kneiss, VP of the American Chemistry Council’s Products Divisions. "The new law creates one consistent standard statewide that all municipalities can follow, while allowing existing programs to continue uninterrupted."
According to the APC, the most recent statistics show that the recycling of plastic bags and wraps increased 24 percent in 2006 nationwide.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Read this in our local paper, but found it on "Recycling Today Magazine".
Labels: nys, plastic grocery bags, recycle, reuse
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