New York State Mandates Retailers to Collect & Recycle Plastic Bags
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY 
on 12.18.08
While I’d prefer that New York State ban free plastic bags outright, like some countries and U.S. cities have already done, a new law signed by Governor David Patterson will require retailers in the Empire State to collect and recycle plastic bags from January 1, 2009 it is a step in the right direction. Here are the details of what businesses will be required to participate:
Stores Over 10,000 Square Feet Mandated to Participate
If your store is over 10,000 square feet of retail space, or is part of chain of more than five stores with more than 5,000 square feet each, you must provide “bins for the collection of used plastic carryout bags, recycle the returned bags, and keep records for three years describing the amount of plastic bags collected and recycled.”
Bloomberg Wants to Go One Step Further
Back in November, NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg went one step further and proposed placing a six cent fee on every plastic bag used by retail stores (of all sizes).
via: Sustainable Business
photo: Eve
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Is the store mandated to participate if they do not give out free plastic bags?
At the moment, we have replaced *half* our needed grocery bags with reusable bags, but still bring home half our groceries in plastic, because we reuse (once) our plastic bags as our garbage bin liner.
My question is: why not? Are store-bought "garbage" bags much lighter/eco-friendlier than store-free "shopping" bags? Is there a way to go liner-free that does not result in an undying stench that requires a new bin every 2-3 years (at the plastic cost of a zillion bags)?