New Yorkers can still get groceries and supplies in plastic bags during the coronavirus pandemic.
State officials have announced they now won’t enforce New York’s controversial plastic bag ban until May 15, it was revealed this week.
New York State’s Department of Environmental Conservation posted on its website that it would postpone the enforcement of the ban from April 1 as the agency deals with a lawsuit that is delayed due to the coronavirus crisis.
“Folks, if you are concerned about the cleanliness of your reusable bag, please consider washing it — as you wash clothes or hands. It’s good hygiene anyway,” tweeted DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos. “New Yorkers are pleased with the bag ban and have no interest in a return to polluting ways.”
The ban — which has a few exceptions, including prescription drugs — went into effect on March 1, with enforcement to begin on April 1.
Enforcement was originally extended to mid-April after New York business owners filed a lawsuit, claiming they didn’t have time to prepare for the ban.
“This does not affect the local laws in New York City, Suffolk County and Tompkins County requiring that the 5-cent paper carryout bag reduction fee must be charged on paper carryout bags,” the website reads.
Maine lawmakers also voted Tuesday to postpone the state’s plastic bag ban until 2021, plasticnews.com reported.