2010 LEGISLATIVE AGENDA

Plastic Bag Regulations

Retail Council position

The Retail Council actively supported enactment of the state’s new law requiring retailers and others to accept plastic shopping bags for recycling (“Plastic Bag Reduction, Reuse, and Recycling Act,” Chapter 641, Laws of 2008). The Council opposes continuing efforts to exempt New York City or any other locality from the provisions of the law which, at this writing, is statewide in scope. The Retail Council also strongly opposes any point-of-sale tax on plastic shopping bags used by consumers.

Legislative action

A number of proposals considered by the Legislature would regulate the use of plastic bags in the retail marketplace, including:

  • The Retail Council opposes S.4595 (Schneiderman), which would authorize the City of New York to re-establish its own plastic bag recycling law.  The bill was held in the Senate Envrionmental Conservation Committee in 2009.

  • The Retail Council strongly opposes A.6537 (Ortiz), which would impose a 15 cent tax on plastic shopping bags.  The Retail Council also strongly opposes A.7844 (Kellner)/ S.4866 (Serrano) and S.5067 (Schneiderman), which would impose a five-cent tax on plastic shopping bags in New York City and New York State, respectively.  The bills were not considered by the full Legislature in 2009.

  • The Retail Council opposes S.544 (Alesi), which would require retailers to reduce, by 50 percent, the use of non-compostable plastic bags by November 30, 2012 and would prohibit the use of non-compostable plastic bags by 2014.

 

At a glance

  • The Retail Council in 2008 worked diligently with the Legislature, our member stores and the environmental community toward legislation that would require certain stores to implement plastic bag recycling programs throughout all 62 counties in New York State. Because of this constructive dialogue Chapter 641, Laws of 2008 strikes an appropriate balance between sound environmental policy and workable mandates for the regulated industry. Attempts to amend this carefully crafted new law -- specifically to exempt New York City from its provisions and open the floodgates for local officials to implement separate, competing and conflicting laws --  would guarantee different reporting requirements and enforcement standards across multiple jurisdictions, adding a new layer of cost to the retail industry that would be passed along to consumers.

     

  • A point-of-sale tax on plastic shopping bags would neither encourage consumers to recycle nor reuse plastic bags; it would serve simply as a roadblock that many consumers would overlook or bypass by using paper alternatives. Urban shoppers, especially, would be affected negatively by this regressive tax as they use plastic bags for the convenience and functionality that durable handles and weather-resistant designs offer. Important to note, too, are the fundamental and costly operational difficulties that retailers would experience when attempting to add a specific line item in point-of-sale systems to account for a tax on plastic bags.
     
  • Attempts to limit and/or prohibit the use of plastic shopping bags will do nothing to reduce the carbon footprint of retailers or their customers - paper bag alternatives are more harmful to the environment in a number of ways. Paper shopping bags not only take 40 percent more energy to produce than plastic bags, but paper bags also generate 80 percent more waste than plastic bags, according to the Progressive Bag Alliance.
  • Consumer education, rather than unrealistic mandates on businesses, is a key component to recycling efforts. The Retail Council will continue to work constructively with lawmakers throughout 2010 to address environmental concerns related to shopping bags and other issues of importance to our members and their customers.