After several attempts, the State of New York is expected to pass a law in the coming days banning plastic bags in stores, which would make it the second American state after California to adopt such a ban.
State parliamentarians, whose two chambers are controlled by Democrats, have reached an agreement to pass the legislation as part of budget measures he is due to vote on by Monday.
If the adoption is confirmed, the ban on single-use bags, which nevertheless comes with several exemptions, would come into force in March 2020.
“I believe that in the future, one will wonder why (this measure) was not generalized earlier,” local Senator Todd Kaminsky told NBC on Thursday. “But I am happy (…) that we are setting an example by being one of the first States to do so”.
“For too long, these bags have made our environment ugly,” the measure should help “protect our natural resources for future generations of New Yorkers,” said Governor Andrew Cuomo, who had failed to pass this ban. last year.
New York, and the United States in general with the exception of the environmental strongholds of the West Coast, still have little legislation to reduce their consumption of plastic, despite their notorious polluting effects on the planet.
Even if the measure is not to be applied until 2021, the European Parliament on Wednesday ratified the ban on many consumer plastic products, including straws, cotton swabs, plastic cutlery.
New York State consumes some 23 billion plastic bags a year, according to figures cited by the governor last year.
In New York City, a temple of consumerism with 8.5 million people, supermarkets distribute plastic bags at will, often wrapping purchases in plastic bags lined for added strength.
The municipality passed a law in 2016 imposing a tax of 5 cents per bag, but it was canceled at the state level.
Under the proposed legislation, counties in the state will be able to impose a 5-cent tax on paper bags, with part of the proceeds going to an environmental fund.
California adopted a ban on plastic bags in 2014. The state of Hawaii also bans them de facto, its most populous counties having banned them.
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