Buffalo, NY (WBEN/AP) On March 1, single use plastic bags will be outlawed in New York's grocery and other stores. While opponents are scrambling, supporters say it doesn't go far enough.
Judith Enck, former EPA administrator now with Beyond Plastics, says the state’s new regulations include a loophole that could allow stores to skirt the ban by handing out plastic bags thick enough to be considered suitable for multiple uses.
A spokesman for New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who signed the ban last year, dismissed concerns about the regulation being too flexible.
“These groups should stop promoting baseless conspiracy theories and focus their efforts on helping New Yorkers transition to re-usable bags,” spokesman Jason Conwall said.
Enck is encouraging people to get reusable bags instead. "A lot of them are not expensive. The New York City Department of Sanitation is giving them out," says Enck.
Matthew Hamory, a managing director in the retail practice at AlixPartners LLP, said it’s unclear how exactly the ban will impact the market for paper bags, though it is clear that “New York will be adding an enormous amount of retail outlets who are using paper bags.”
Plastic bag manufacturers are also calling for New York to delay or weaken its ban because of concerns over the supply of multiuse bags.
“Retailers who typically buy their bags months in advance are staring down the barrel of implementation that they just cannot comply with,” said Matt Seaholm, executive director of the American Recyclable Plastic Bag Alliance.
DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said his agency is aware of concerns about paper bag shortages and has purchased over a quarter-million reusable bags the state will give out to food pantries and shelters.
“The industry has known this has been coming for 10 months,” he said.