Finally, someone is doing something about the scourge of plastic bags in New York State. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) is leading the way on the issue – he has announced that a ban on single-use plastic bags will be included in his 2019 executive budget, according to The Hill.com.
This is incredibly important, because we now know that we can’t leave it up to individuals, or supermarkets, to make the right eco-friendly decisions.
Our lakes and oceans have been filling up with plastics. Lake and sea creatures are suffering at the hands of mankind. Microplastics are in our drinking water, and in the fish that we eat. Yet all one has to do is visit his or her local supermarket to see how serious people are taking the the environmental threat. Shopping carts are still loaded to the gills with plastic bags, because the general populace doesn’t care, and will never care.
In The Hill article, Cuomo says, “While the federal government is taking our environmental progress backwards and selling out our communities to polluters and oil companies, in New York we are moving forward with the nation’s strongest environmental policies and doing everything in our power to protect our natural resources for future generations.”
Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is working on efforts so that low and moderate income communities would not be adversely impacted. The budget will also include legislation that will make most non-alcoholic drink bottles eligible for 5-cent redemption, according to TheHill.com.