Pass a 5 Cent fee on Paper Bags in NYC

The NYC Chapter along with the BagitNYC coalition succeeded in passing legislation putting a 5-cent fee on all single use checkout type paper bags. See blog. 

After spending two years passing bag legislation for NYC in 2016, they were dismayed to see the NY State legislature preempt the city’s bill. After three years of waiting for the State to make a move on bags, they were again disappointed to see State legislation that only banned plastic bags, not addressing paper bags.

The silver lining in the NY State bag legislation was a pathway for counties and cities to pass their own legislation, adding a fee on paper bags to the plastic bag ban language. That is exactly what NYC did this week, adding a 5 cent fee on all paper bags, closing that loophole.