Do you shop in New York? Read how much you will now pay for plastic bags

The New York City Council of the United States of America has approved a bill that would require most merchants to charge customers at least a nickel for each bag, including those made of paper.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the Council voted 28 to 20 in favour of the legislation, which also has the support of Mayor Bill de Blasio.
The journal said the law covers plastic and paper bags given out by grocery stores, drugstores and other retailers.
The fee would be collected by the store, not the government.
Exemptions include restaurant takeout orders and purchases made with food stamps.
It said the bill won’t be actively enforced until April 2017.
Already, de Blassio, who has a goal of sending zero waste to landfills by 2030, said he will sign the bill, which will take effect October 1.
He said the legislation “strikes the right balance, reducing reliance on single-use bags and incentivizing the use of reusable bags”.
Supporters of the bill are hoping the extra charge will force New Yorkers to think twice about accepting a bag and perhaps to start bringing their own, even if they’re plastic.
And that, they say, might help reduce the number of bags filling landfills and blowing into trees and waterways as they now do constantly in the city.
Some New Yorkers interviewed as they ran errands this week said they weren’t so sure how they would adapt, especially in a city where most people are shopping on foot rather than by car.
According to the paper, Todd Killinger, 47, who works in advertising, said it’s a good idea.
“After a time I think people will switch and bring their own bags but initially not so much,” he said.
If the law is enacted, New York City will join more than 150 other municipalities around the country that have passed ordinances either to ban single-use plastic bags or to charge a fee for them.
Puerto Rico’s governor signed an order banning plastic bags last fall.
There is now a five-pence charge in Great Britain.
It said former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg first proposed a plastic bag charge in 2008, but the idea failed to attract support from the City Council.
The current bill was introduced in 2014 and has been amended to slash the per-bag fee from 10 cents to five.
Councilman Brad Lander, who sponsored the bill, said: “Everyone knows that plastic bags are a problem.
“They blow everywhere. They never biodegrade. They’re made of petroleum. And we don’t need them.”
Opponents, however say the fee essentially amounts to a new tax on a heavily taxed population.
Councilman Steven Matteo, a Staten Island Republican who voted against the bag fee, said: “I am tired of my constituents being nickeled-and-dimed all the time.
“It’s going to give my constituents another reason to shop in New Jersey.”
According to the Sanitation Department, New York City spends $12.5 million a year to send plastic bags to landfills and even more to clean them off beaches, parks and other public spaces.
Lee Califf, the Executive Director of the American Progressive Bag Alliance, accused the City Council of “imposing a new, regressive grocery bag tax that will hurt seniors, working class and low-income New Yorkers while enriching grocers”.
NAN.