[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the
Town of New Castle 3-24-2020 by L.L. No. 4-2020.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This local law superseded former Ch. 54, Carryout
Bags, adopted 5-31-2016 by L.L. No. 4-2016.
A.Â
In February 2008, the Town of New Castle became the first municipality
in the State of New York to adopt the New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation's "Climate Smart Communities" pledge,
a ten-measure commitment to encourage renewable energy, to increase
recycling efforts, and to incorporate climate change sustainability,
and the use of environmentally sound goods and services within all
development plans. In April 2011 the Town Board adopted a Climate
Action Plan.
B.Â
In accordance with the goals and objectives of the Climate Smart
Communities Pledge and the Town's Climate Action Plan, the Town
Board seeks to conserve resources, reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions,
waste, litter and pollution. An important part of that goal is to
procure and use sustainable products and services, sustainable products
and services.
C.Â
The Town Board finds that the use of single-use carryout bags (plastic,
paper, and biodegradable) has negative environmental impacts, including
GHG emissions, litter, water consumption, solid waste generation and
effects on wildlife and that numerous studies have documented the
prevalence of single-use carryout bags littering the environment,
blocking storm drains and fouling beaches. Single-use plastic bags
do not biodegrade but instead break down into smaller pieces that
are ingested by marine animals and make their way into the food chain.
Furthermore, the manufacturing, transport, recycling and/or disposal
of paper bags require significant environmental resources.
D.Â
The Town Board believes that, from an overall environmental and economic
perspective, a shift to reusable bags is a better alternative to the
continued use of single-use plastic and paper carryout bags. Similar
policies adopted in other jurisdictions have resulted in significant
reductions in the use of single-use carryout bags. The Town Board
finds that such a shift in use shall be a benefit to the overall health,
safety and welfare of the Town of New Castle, its residents and the
local environment.
E.Â
The Town Board also finds that a carryout bag fee is an essential
element of the movement away from single-use carryout bags because
it will discourage customers from using single-use carryout bags when
shopping at regulated stores and will encourage a shift towards the
use of reusable bags. Any costs incurred by applicable businesses,
as defined herein, in providing paper bags and reusable bags will
be at least partially offset by the monetary proceeds from the carryout
bag fee. Furthermore, such fee is not a tax because the monetary proceeds
will be retained by the retail establishments and this chapter shall
not specify how the retailers must expend the monies collected.
F.Â
Effective March 1, 2020, the State of New York enacted the New York
State Bag Waste Reduction Act. The law prohibits the distribution
of plastic carryout bags by retailers in New York State, subject to
certain exemptions. Jurisdiction in all matters pertaining to plastic
carryout bags is vested exclusively in the State.
G.Â
The purpose of this chapter, as amended, is to further incentivize
the use of reusable carryout bags and incorporate the provisions of
the New York State Bag Waste Reduction Act into the laws of the Town
of New Castle.
For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions shall
apply:
Any of the following retail establishments located within the
Town of New Castle:
A full-line, self-service retail store with gross annual sales
of $2,000,000 or more that sells a line of dry grocery, canned goods,
or nonfood items and some perishable items.
A drug store, pharmacy, supermarket, grocery store, convenience
food store, farmer's market vendor, food mart, food market, minimart
or gasoline station store.
"Applicable business" does not include 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.
The cost which must be collected by an applicable business
from their customers when providing a reusable bag or recycled paper
bag.
A bag used solely to contain or wrap uncooked meat, fish, seafood,
poultry, other unwrapped or non-prepackaged food, flower, plant, or
other item for the purpose of separating it from other items to avoid
contamination, prevent damage from moisture, or for sanitary, public
health, or environmental protection purposes;
A bag used solely to package items from bulk containers, including
fruits, vegetables, grains, candy, small hardware items (such as nuts,
bolts, and screws), live insects, fish, crustaceans, mollusks, or
other aquatic items requiring a waterproof bag;
A bag used solely to contain food sliced or prepared to order;
A bag used solely to contain a newspaper for delivery to a subscriber
of such newspaper;
A bag sold in bulk quantities to a consumer at the point of
sale that were specifically prepackaged in a manner to allow for bulk
sale (for example, quantities of bags prepackaged in individual presealed
boxes) or prepackaged in individual boxes or containers for sale to
a customer;
A bag sold as a trash bag;
A bag sold as a food storage bag, such as those in snack, sandwich,
quart, and gallon sizes;
A bag used as a garment bag, such as over-the-hanger bags or
those used by a dry cleaner or laundry service;
A plastic carryout bag provided by a restaurant, tavern or similar
food service establishment, as defined in § 14-1.20 of the
New York State Sanitary Code (10 NYCRR § 14-1.20), to carry
out or deliver food;
A bag provided by a pharmacy to carry prescription drugs; or
A reusable bag.
A flexible sheet or sheets of petroleum or non-petroleum
based plastic resin or other material (not including a paper carryout
bag), less than 10 mils in thickness, commonly used in and as packaging
products, which include, but are not limited to, plastic carryout
bags, newspaper bags, garment bags, shrink-wrap, and other plastic
overwrap.
Any vendor of tangible personal property subject to the tax
imposed by Section 1105(a) of the New York State Tax Law.
Any plastic bag, other than an exempt bag, that is provided
to a customer by a person required to collect tax to be used by the
customer to carry tangible personal property, regardless of whether
such person required to collect tax sells any tangible personal property
or service to the customer, and regardless of whether any tangible
personal property or service sold is exempt from tax under Article
28 of the New York State Tax Law.
A material that, having completed its intended end use or
productive life, is ordinarily disposed of through solid waste disposal.
"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 at the point of sale 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;
An eight-pound-rated or smaller recycled paper bag shall contain
a minimum of 20% postconsumer material;
The recycled paper bag is accepted for curbside recycling in
New Castle;
The recycled paper bag is capable of composting, consistent
with the timeline and specifications of the American Society of Testing
and Materials (ASTM) Standard D6400, as published in September 2004;
and
Printed on the recycled paper bag are the percentage of postconsumer
material content and the word "recyclable."
Any corporation, partnership, business, facility, vendor,
or organization located in the Town of New Castle that sells or provides
merchandise, goods or materials, including, without limitation, clothing,
food, or personal items of any kind, directly to a consumer. "Retail
establishment" includes, without limitation, any department store,
drug store, pharmacy, supermarket, grocery store, convenience food
store, food mart, food market, liquor store, minimart, gasoline station
store, hardware store, deli, restaurant, farmer's market vendor,
and any other retail store or vendor.
A bag that:
Is either made of cloth or other machine washable fabric; or
other non-film plastic washable material; and
Has a minimum lifespan of 125 uses, with a use equal to the
ability to carry a minimum of 22 pounds over a distance of at least
175 feet; and
Has a minimum fabric weight of 80 grams per square meter (GSM)
or equivalent for bags made of any non-film plastic of natural, synthetic,
petroleum based, or non-petroleum-based origin, including woven or
nonwoven polypropylene (PP), polyethylene-terephthalate (PET), cotton,
jute, or canvas.
A.Â
An applicable business shall not provide any type of carryout bag
to a person at the point of sale unless it is a reusable bag or a
recycled paper bag.
B.Â
An applicable business may only provide a reusable bag or recycled
paper bag to a customer if it collects a carryout bag cost pass-through
from the customer for each reusable bag or recycled paper bag provided,
as detailed below:
(1)Â
The carryout bag cost pass-through shall be no less than $0.10 for
a recycled paper bag and no less than $0.25 for a reusable bag.
(2)Â
No applicable business collecting a carryout bag cost pass-through
pursuant to this section shall rebate or otherwise reimburse a customer
for any portion of this pass-through.
C.Â
In order to protect customers by providing them with the option of
not taking a bag that incurs a charge for reusable bags and recycled
paper bags, prior to providing a bag customers must be verbally informed
of the carryout bag cost pass-through at point of sale, and the customer
transaction receipts shall indicate the number of reusable bags and
recycled paper bags provided and the total amount of the carryout
bag cost pass-through.
D.Â
An applicable business may provide reusable bags to customers at
no cost only when combined with a time-limited store promotional program,
not to exceed three months in the year that this chapter is first
executed, and not to exceed two months per year every year thereafter.
E.Â
Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit an applicable business from
encouraging and providing incentives for the use of reusable bags
through education and through credits or rebates for customers that
bring their own carryout bags at the point of sale for the purpose
of carrying away goods.
F.Â
Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit customers from using bags
of any type that they bring to the store themselves or from carrying
away goods that are not placed in a bag.
The carryout bag cost pass-through shall not apply to any customer
using the supplemental nutritional assistance program, special supplemental
nutrition program for women, infants and children, or any successor
programs used as full or partial payment for the items purchased.
Any person or entity in violation of this chapter shall be guilty
of a violation and shall receive a warning for the first violation,
may be subject to a fine in the amount of $150 for the second violation;
$200 for the third violation, and $250 for the fourth and subsequent
violations occurring within a one-year period.
