Enforcement Delayed for New York State’s Plastic Bag Ban

ny1.com and CrownHeights.info

The new law banning retail stores from distributing plastic bags takes effect this Sunday, but the state Department of Environmental Conservation agreed Friday to wait one month, until April 1, to enforce penalties against stores that do not comply.

The promise, though, was largely symbolic. The agency had planned all along to phase in enforcement to give businesses time to adapt. The DEC made the pledge during a hearing on a legal challenge by a bag maker and a trade group of 5,000 bodegas in the city.

“They are asking for time to get what we they need,” said Francisco Marte of the U.S. Bodegueros Association. “Now, especially for the bodega, we are facing chaos.”

Regardless of the legal challenge, the city is preparing residents for the changes to come. Mayor Bill de Blasio handed out reusable bags in Union Square Park.

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