Headed to the grocery store ? Remember your reusable bags or be ready to pay.
Starting Sunday, December 1, 2019, the Town of Mamaroneck and Village of Larchmont implement a ban on single-use, carryout plastic bags. That means if you do not remember to bring your own reusable bags you will have to pay a nickel for each paper bag provided by the store. The new law is regularly referred to as BYO-BAG (Bring Your Own Bag).
In advance of the new law local stores Shop and Shop and Trader Joe’s have posted reminders at the registers.
The Mamaroneck Town Board and Larchmont Village Board passed the “Bag Waste Reduction Law” in advance of the New York State law that takes effect March 1, 2020.
The New York State law notes that “stores are not required to have bags available for customers. Some stores may choose not to switch to paper and may only have reusable bags for purchase.”
As The Loop reported in November, making a transition to reusable bags will reduce pollution and ease factors impacting climate change, according to a report by the Department of Environmental Conservation. Statewide, New Yorkers use about 23 billion plastic bags every year.
There are some exemptions to the plastic bag ban. Restaurants are allowed to use plastic bags for takeout food. No charges will apply to bags used for fish, meat and produce, dry cleaning, and prescription medication.
