By COLlive reporter
New Yorkers are being called upon to rally fellow elected officials behind an effort to terminate a five-cent grocery bag fee that passed in the City Council on Thursday, 28-20.
The legislation, which will take effect on Oct. 1, would require certain retailers to charge a fee for each carryout bag, paper or plastic.
“This motion to charge consumers a nickel for their grocery bags is an unfair tax on hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers,” said Assemblyman Dov Hikind. “Not only will this fee further complicate our lives even more, it will also tremendously burden the store owners.”
Supporters of the bill insisted the five-cent fee would encourage shoppers to use reusable bags, thus reducing the number of plastic bags New Yorkers throw away annually and argued that the five-cent charge wouldn’t be considered a tax since it would go directly to the store owner.
“If it looks like a tax, smells like a tax and acts as a tax, then it’s a tax,” Hikind argued. “This is just one more thing New Yorkers have to worry about. Grocery shopping, especially in New York City, can be hectic, and this will add to the chaos. As customers, we will now have to worry about having our reusable bags handy every time we go to the supermarket. It’s absolutely ridiculous.”
State Senator Simcha Felder (D- Brooklyn) and Assemblyman Michael Cusick (D-State Island) recently proposed legislation that would prevent New York City from imposing this fee.
Mayor Bill de Blasio will be holding a public hearing on Tuesday, May 10 at 12 p.m. to offer those who oppose the legislation an opportunity to voice their concerns.
“Let’s stand up together against this tax on the consumer and additional burden on supermarket owners,” he said.
Been living with this law for 4 years. Not really a big deal like people are making out, not going to effect your finances.
just keep a bunch of good quality bags. They can all go inside one bag which we keep in the car.
It’s about challenging the throw away mentality and it works.
it costs 10 cents
c’mon stop being so stupid the €5 is added to your total and u pay by credit card, so don’t recycle that’s a total of €60 for 12 bags it’s nothing
in any case in england they have had recyclable bags for years and people get used to using them and this charge on bags doesn’t mean much to them. take two weeks practising to use recyclable bags and the it will become second natured the world will be a healthier place for all mankind
#6 yes I was in LA and it’s $0.10 .a bag it is what it is what can you do or maybe Mayor de Blasio is jealous haha
The chain stores that sell groceries in Australia have bins where used plastic bags are collected so they need not go in the garbage
In Australia some large stores tried it w plastic bags , but gave up… people weren’t prepared to pay.it may have been a trial…paper bags were suggested as they are recycled
We pay 5 pence a bag here… buy it’s only at shops that have more than 200 employees, like the chain supermarkets. I just pay the extra 75p or whatever. Its not such a big deal. I pay more for the parking when I go to a smaller store.
Here in Canada we all pay 5 cents a bag
South africa also has a bag tax. it actually is not such a bad thing. Encourages reusable bags
paying for bags. so annoying for the frum hsopper when buying huge quantities and having to bring in 25 shopping bags before going on a weekly shop
5 cents a bag for many years now.
Had a tremendously positive impact on landfills and wildlife.
Sure, it’s a pain in the neck … and worse. But for those capable of seeing beyond their own comfort zone and looking at the bigger picture, it is a worthwhile investment in the preservation of this wonderful world Hashem blessed us with.
5 cents a bag
5 pence a bag … awful
It’s a real pain
Plastic s]hopping bags are derived from fossil fuels. This would mean that plastic shopping bags support Saudi Arabia.
The 5 cents for each bag is going directly back the store, it’s not inconveniencing them at all.
The stores have to get rid of them anyway. Better yet, ask for delivery, and let the city deal with collecting and recycling all the boxes from our homes instead of the stores having to pay carting fees 🙂
The stores would be so kind as to sell us reusable bags at $1 a piece – like trader joes
They do this in Montreal, costs 5 cents a bag. Worst, absolutely worst, law ever. Biggest pain in the…. imagine a family of 9 shopping for shabbos and having to shlep all those reusable bags. …. insane!