Some worry whether state's coming plastic bag ban is enough

摘要

New York retailers have begun giving up single-use plastic bags as the state prepares for the March 1implementation of a ban aimed at reducing pollution, but many of those who support a move away fromplastic are worried the new law doesn't go far enough.The law bars many types of businesses from using the thin plastic bags that have been clogging uplandfills, getting tangled in trees and accumulating in lakes and seas. Single-use paper bags will still beallowed, but counties have the option of imposing a 5-cent fee.As the deadline to drop plastic bags nears, though, not all environmentalists are ready to celebrate.Some worry that the state's new regulations include a loophole that could allow stores to skirt the ban byhanding out plastic bags thick enough to be considered suitable for multiple uses."It is a giant loophole which they should close in the future," said Judith Enck, a former EPA regionaladministrator who now leads the environmental advocacy group Beyond Plastics. "It's not good for theenvironment if you go from thinner plastic bags to thicker plastic bags."