Plastic Bag Recycling Made State Law

Plastic Bag Recycling Made State Law Posted: 12/14/2008 - 3:48:14 PM

Taking a cue from county lawmakers on Long Island, New York is cracking down on wasteful plastic shopping bags. Retailers larger than 10,000 square feet and chains of more than five stores each larger than 5,000 square feet each will be required to provide bins for the collection of used plastic carryout bags, recycle the returned bags and keep records for three years describing the amount of plastic bags collected and recycled.

New York Gov. David Patterson announced on Saturday, Dec. 13 the new law, which will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2009. “By making changes in our daily lives and business practices, we can conserve natural resources, save energy and reduce our ecological footprint,” Paterson said.