OK, let me try for the perfect segueway from yesterday's Rant.
Here goes ...
When I bought those great releases on Record Store Day, the cashier put them in a plastic bag, which I then carried to my car and sped away into the dead of the day.
How's that?
Let me explain.
If the record store was about two miles further east, I would not have been able to do that.
As it is, the record store I made my purchases at is located in Nassau County. There are no plastic bag laws in the county.
Two miles east, in Suffolk County, there are bag laws, where plastic bags are prohibited. Supermarkets, and yes, record stores and other such retail venues cannot provide plastic bags to customers. You have to bring your own reusable bag, or some other bag, to bag groceries throughout the county, unless paper bags are available.
This law has been on the county books for several months, and since my family kind of lives near the border of Nassau and Suffolk counties, we kind of straddle the law.
When we shop in Nassau, no problem, we can get whatever bags that we want.
When we overstep that boundary and shop in Suffolk County, we are out of luck--no plastic bags without a 5 cents per bag charge, and more often then not, no paper bags either.
This is an environmental issue, because loose plastic bags evidently clog up the ecosystem, clog up our waterways, and are not safe to wildlife.
While other nearby municipalities in New York have talked about their own plastic bag ban, very few have done what Suffolk County has done. The supermarkets don't like it, and neither do a lot of taxpayers like you and I.
Personally, I don't really care ... as long as I have a paper bag to bag the stuff I have purchased, that is fine with me, but as I said earlier, many retail venues in Suffolk County do not give you a choice; it's either bring your own bag or no bag at all, because they don't provide paper bags.
I heave heard that King Kullen does provide paper bags, but Target does not.
Anyway, what this is leading up to is that New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo is proposing a statewide ban on plastic bags, so if this goes through, not only won't we be able to get these bags in Suffolk County, but also in Nassau County, New York City, Ulster County, Putnam County ... anywhere in New York State.
Again, I personally have no problem with this at all, but I would like Gov. Cuomo to include in the law that an alternative must be provided, such as making paper bags available.
Paper bags are more expensive than plastic bags, so that is why many Suffolk County venues don't offer them to customers, and the stores say that offering them would drive up the cost of the items that you are buying, so it is a lose-lose situation in offering them to customers.
Plastic bags are not the panacea of ease as many advocates say they are. They only hold so many items, and they are often so thin that they rip and tear easily. And they aren't great environmentally.
Paper bags are sturdier, more expensive for stores to stock, but they are better for the environment.
So there is no perfect solution to the problem, because studies have shown that the reusable bags are no solution to the problem, either. Constant reuse cause germs to be stored in these bags, and people can actually get sick from them if not regularly cleaned or replaced.
So there really is no perfect bag out there; all that I am asking is to give me a choice at what conveyance I am going to use.
And no, five cents per plastic bag is not a solution that works for me, in particular since I usually double bag groceries.
How about a used box? Maybe that is the ultimate solution, but go find one, or several, if you are going to be doing a bigger shopping.
For now, I will continue to make larger purchases in Nassau County, because there is no way I am going to pay what amounts to a penalty for using plastic bags in a county just a mile from where I live.
And you can bag that.
Paper anyone?
Larry, if you're going to write this kind of piece, you need to fact check yourself first.
ReplyDeleteThe Suffolk County law encompasses paper bags as well as plastic. go into the store and ask for paper, and you'll be charged for it.
NY has a plastic bag law on the books since 2009. It mandates grocery stores, etc. recycle plastic bags, the same way we recycle soda bottles. There's no enforcement of the law, and in fact I've only seen one supermarket with a set up for recycling used plastic bags.
NYC actually has a plastic bag law on the books, similar to the law we have here in Suffolk, but the state legislature blocked enforcement of it, ostensibly because the state is going to enact its own plastic bag law. Cuomo introduced a bill yesterday. I doubt it will pass as long as Flanagan is running the Senate, but there's an election coming up in November...
I live in Suffolk, and have to remember which county I'm in whenever I shop. But you get used to bringing your own bags.
and your box comment? I guess you don't shop in B.J.'s or costco, because carrying out items in a cardboard box is what customers routinely do at the warehouse stores.
Some interesting reading on the subject: https://www.newsday.com/opinion/editorial/plastic-bags-long-island-1.18180938
Oh, and Long Beach has a "bag law" on the books, too.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if a bag law is on Curran's agenda.
Interesting information. And I was referring to supermarkets and smaller retailers, not the warehouse clubs.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen the empty boxes in smaller stores or supermarkets. Yet. If a total ban goes into effect -- the Suffolk legislature hinted that this is a possibility -- I think you might see the cardboard boxes in those venues.
ReplyDeleteI'm watching today's special elections very carefully. there are races for State Senate in the Bronx and Westchester that could change the balance of power in Albany. If flanagan becomes minority leader instead of President of the Senate, we could see statewide bag regulations like the law in Suffolk.
They will invariably find a way to charge you for the box, too.
ReplyDelete