Bloomberg signs plastic bag recycling legislation
On Wednesday, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed off on a new plastic bag-recycling program for the city. Under the program, retailers with more than 5,000 square feet of store space or five or more locations in the city will be required to provide in-store bins to collect unwanted plastic bags and film plastics.
“It is important to take as many steps as we can to recycle plastic bags,” Bloomberg said when signing the law creating the program. “They are not biodegradable, but instead break down into small pieces that pollute the water and soil. Due to their light weight, plastic bags can easily escape from our sanitation system — even when properly disposed of — winding up in trees, waterways and as litter in our neighborhoods.”
The program is part of the city’s Solid Waste Management Plan.