New York City shoppers who switch to paper bags when plastic ones are outlawed by the state next year will have to fork over 5 cents for each one under legislation proposed by city lawmakers on Tuesday.
City Council members Brad Lander (D-Brooklyn) and Margaret Chin (D-Manhattan) said they intend to introduce a bill allowing the city to opt in to the 5-cent fee for paper bags that’s part of the new state law outlawing plastic bags as of March 1, 2020.
Lander praised the state Legislature for banning plastic carriers, but warned many shoppers will simply switch to paper if there’s no fee.
He said the manufacturing and transportation of paper bags also produces greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental problems.
“The goal of this legislation is to not actually collect a single nickel,” Lander said during a press conference outside City Hall. “The goal is to help everyone bring reusable bags when they go to the store.”
Under the state law, 3 cents of the fee would go to the state Environmental Protection Fund. Lander and Chin’s bill will call for the city’s 2-cent share to go to free reusable bags for all New Yorkers, with low-income residents getting first crack.
Mayor Bill de Blasio has said he’s prepared to support the paper fee.
Two years ago, de Blasio backed a bill introduced by Lander and Chin and approved by the council that would have imposed a 5-cent fee on plastic bags. But it was blocked by the Legislature and Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who felt it was “deeply flawed” because merchants would have pocketed the revenue.