A.
This Legislature finds and determines that each year an estimated 500 billion to one trillion plastic bags are used worldwide, and billions of these bags end up as litter each year. In the United States alone, retail checkout counters distribute about 100 billion plastic bags, and it takes approximately 35 million barrels of oil to produce them.
B.
This Legislature further finds and determines that most plastic carryout bags do not biodegrade, which means that the bags break down into smaller and smaller toxic bits that contaminate soil and waterways and enter into the food web when animals accidentally ingest those materials.
C.
This Legislature further finds that plastic shopping bags are relatively resource-efficient, reusable and one-hundred-percent recyclable, that recycling plastic bags is a robust and growing industry across the United States, the number of programs that recycle plastic bags is increasing daily, and that millions of pounds of plastic bags are recycled each year into durable outdoor decking and low-maintenance fencing.
D.
This Legislature also finds that plastic bags are a relatively resource-efficient choice as they require 40% less energy to manufacture than paper bags, require 91% less energy to recycle pound for pound compared to paper, and produce 70% fewer air emissions than manufacturing paper bags.
E.
This Legislature hereby finds and determines that any incidental costs of the recycling program established by this article are outweighed by the benefits to the environment from the increased recycling of plastic bags.
F.
This Legislature hereby also finds that the proposed recycling program furthers New York State policy which favors programs that maximize material reuse and recycling and programs that use energy-efficient recycling processes.
G.
Therefore, the purpose of this article is to encourage the use of reusable bags by consumers and retailers, to reduce the consumption of single-use bags, and to require an at-store recycling program for plastic bags.