[Adopted 3-19-2019 by L.L. No. 3-2019]
This article shall be known as the "Plastic Carryout Bag Waste
Reduction Act."
A.
Throughout Rockland County, plastic bags have become a major source
of litter and pollution. They can be found stuck in trees, litter
our neighborhoods, destroy wildlife, clog storm drains, float into
and end up in our waterways and fill landfills. This is especially
concerning given that the Hudson River runs along the County's eastern
border. Plastic bags do not biodegrade, are very difficult to recycle
and are often only "reused" once before being discarded. Moreover,
these bags are extremely problematic because they create tangles and
jams in recycling and wastewater processing equipment, making it time-consuming
and costly for municipalities and recycling centers to manage.
B.
According to National Geographic, larger plastic debris breaks down
by sunlight and wave action into microplastics, rice-sized bits that
measure five millimeters or less. These "microplastics" are then ingested
by tiny fish who are then in turn eaten by larger fish. According
to scientists, the toxins in those microplastics could be transferred
to fish consumed by humans, thus having larger implications for human
health.
C.
In Rockland County, it is estimated that a total of 2,130 tons of
single-use plastic bags were trashed in 2017, landing Rockland in
the Top 8 municipalities in New York State that discard plastic bags
in curbside and containerized collections. Due to problems with recycling
contamination, the Rockland County Solid Waste Management Authority
(RCSWMA) has developed a Residential Decal Program, available in English
and Spanish, to inform residents that they should not place plastic
bags in recycling bins or place recyclables in plastic bags, rather
they should be brought back to retailers for recycling. As a result
of this education campaign, the RCSWMA has seen a 20% to 30% reduction
in plastic bags being placed in recycling bins. However, implementation
of the Decal Program is costly and needs to continue indefinitely
or the contamination will increase over time. Recycling contamination
due to plastic bags, however, continues to be a problem because it
slows down the recycling process, damages the sorting machine and
can endanger workers on the sorting line.
D.
In New York State, several municipalities (i.e., Town of East Hampton,
Village of East Hampton, Hastings on the Hudson, Larchmont, Marmaroneck,
New Paltz, Patchogue, Rye, Town of South Hampton, Village of Southampton
and Village of Piermont) have enacted plastic bag bans to deal with
the problems that these bags create. Furthermore, there is legislation
pending at the state level, but no indication that this will be moving
forward at this time.
E.
The Rockland County Legislature therefore finds that it is necessary
to implement a plastic bag ban to better protect our environment,
waterways, and health and believes that a shift to reusable bags and
recyclable paper bags is a better alternative. According to the New
York State Plastic Bag Task Force Report, published on January 13,
2018, evidence shows that similar policies implemented in other jurisdictions
have resulted in a significant reduction in plastic bag use, further
reducing the raw material and natural resources used to make, transport
and recycle these bags. Overall, the Legislature of Rockland County
believes that using reusable bags and recyclable paper bags will benefit
the overall health, safety and welfare of the residents of Rockland
County and the local environment.
F.
For all the reasons listed, the Legislature of Rockland County has
decided to adopt a local law to significantly limit the use of disposable
single-use plastic carryout bags and incentivize the use of reusable
bags with recyclable paper bags as an alternative to be used by retailers
and restaurants.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Any of the following establishments located within the County
of Rockland:
Any corporation, partnership, business, facility, vendor, or
organization located in the County of Rockland that sells or provides
merchandise, goods or materials, including, but not limited to, clothing,
food, or personal items of any kind, directly to a consumer. An applicable
business shall include but is not limited to any retail establishment,
department store, apparel store, home center and hardware store, stationary
and office supply store, drug store, pharmacy, supermarket, convenience
food store, food mart, food market, farmers market vendor, liquor
store, minimart or gasoline station store.
A restaurant, deli or any other business that receives 90% or
more of its revenue from the sale of prepared food to be eaten on
or off its premises.
Any facility, including soup kitchens and food pantries operated
by a not-for profit corporation or by a federal, state or local government
agency, that provides food to needy individuals at no charge to the
person receiving the food.
A self-contained food service operation, located in a readily
movable pushcart, motorized wheeled or towed vehicle, used to store,
prepare, display or serve food intended for individual portion service.
A material that, having completed its intended end use or
productive life, is ordinarily disposed of through solid waste disposal
or recycling. Postconsumer material does not include materials and
byproducts generated from, and commonly reused within, an original
manufacturing and fabrication process.
A paper single-use carryout bag provided by an applicable
business to a customer that meets all of the following applicable
requirements:
Except as otherwise provided in this section, the recycled paper
bag contains a minimum of 40% postconsumer materials, except that
an eight-pound-rated or smaller recycled paper bag shall contain a
minimum of 20% postconsumer material;
The recycled paper bag should be 100% paper, with no coatings
or liners;
The recycled paper bag is accepted for curbside recycling in
Rockland County per the Rockland County Solid Waste Management Authority;
and
Printed on the recycled paper bag are the percentage of postconsumer
material content and any of the following words and/or phrases: "recyclable,"
"reusable," "Choose to Reuse" or "I'm Recyclable" on the outside of
the bag.
A bag with handles that is designed and manufactured for
multiple reuses and meets all of the following requirements:
Is machine washable or easily cleaned or disinfected, and if
made of plastic, is a minimum of at least 2.25 mils (thousandths of
an inch) thick; and
Does not contain lead, cadmium, or any other heavy metal in
toxic amounts, as defined by applicable state and federal standards
and regulations for packaging or reusable bags; and
Has a minimum lifetime of 125 uses which, for purposes of this
subsection, means the capability of carrying a minimum of 22 pounds
125 times over a distance of at least 175 feet.
Any bag that:
Is predominantly made of plastic derived from petroleum or biobased
sources, such as corn or other plants; and
Is less than 2.25 mils (thousandths of an inch) thick; and
Is provided by an applicable business, as defined herein, to
a customer at a check stand, cash register, point of sale or other
location for the purpose of carrying purchased items such as food
or merchandise.
Single-use plastic carryout bags do not include:
Bags used to:
Package loose bulk items, such as fruit, vegetables, nuts, grains,
candy, cookies, or small hardware items;
Contain or wrap frozen foods, meat, or fish, whether prepackaged
or not;
Contain or wrap flowers, potted plants, or other items where
damage to or contamination of other goods placed together in the same
bag may be a problem (includes paper bags to protect bottles, newspaper
bags, laundry dry-cleaning bags, plastic bags around ice cream or
other wet items, and small paper bags for greeting cards); or
Contain unwrapped prepared goods or bakery goods.
Bags provided by pharmacists to contain prescription drugs;
or
Newspaper bags, door-hanger bags, or laundry-dry cleaning bags.
No applicable business shall provide or distribute a single-use
plastic carryout bag to a customer.
A.
Applicable businesses may only provide a reusable bag and/or a recycled
paper bag, as defined herein, to customers for the purpose of carrying
purchased items such as food or merchandise.
B.
An applicable business may not charge a fee for recycled paper bags.
C.
All applicable businesses shall post signs provided or approved by
the Rockland County Office of Consumer Protection at or near points
of sale to notify customers of the provisions of this article, which
signs shall indicate to customers that applicable businesses are prohibited
from providing or distributing single-use plastic carryout bags to
customers.
D.
Nothing in this article shall prohibit applicable businesses from
encouraging and providing incentives for the use of reusable bags
through education and through credits or rebates for customers that
bring their own reusable bags at the point of sale for the purpose
of carrying away goods.
E.
Nothing in this article shall prohibit customers from using bags
of any type that they bring to the store themselves or from carrying
away goods without using a bag.
The Director of Consumer Protection and Public Advocate, in
addition to any other duties and powers, is authorized to adjudicate
any and all violations and levy and collect any and all penalties
for violation of this article.
Any applicable business that violates the provisions of this
article shall receive the following penalties:
B.
In addition to the above-referenced penalties, the Rockland County
Office of Consumer Protection shall have the authority to confiscate
any and all single-use plastic carryout bags from an applicable business
found to have violated this article.
C.
For the purpose of this section, each commercial transaction shall
constitute no more than one violation.
The Director of the Rockland County Office of Consumer Protection
shall promulgate any rules and regulations as it deems necessary and
appropriate for the implementation and enforcement of any provisions
of this article.
This article shall be null and void on the day that statewide
legislation goes into effect, incorporating either the same or substantially
similar provisions as are contained in this article, or in the event
that a pertinent state or federal administrative agency issues and
promulgates regulations preempting such action by the County of Rockland.
The County Legislature may determine by resolution whether or not
identical or substantially similar statewide legislation or pertinent
preempting state or federal regulations have been enacted for the
purposes of triggering the provisions of this section.
If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section or
part of this article or the application thereof to any person, individual,
corporation, firm, partnership, entity or circumstance shall be adjudged
by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unconstitutional,
such order or judgment shall not affect, impair, effect or invalidate
the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the
clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section or part of this
article or in its application to the person, individual, corporation,
firm, partnership, entity or circumstance directly involved in the
controversy in which such order or judgment shall be rendered.
[Amended 10-2-2019 by L.L. No. 6-2019]
This article shall take effect March 1, 2020
