Rockville Centre businesses prepare for plastic bag ban

Retailers in Rockville Centre are preparing for a plastic bag ban that goes into effect statewide on Sunday.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the Plastic Bag Waste Reduction Act into law last April in an effort to protect the environment. State officials estimate that New Yorkers use 23 billion plastic bags annually, and nationwide studies show that about 50 percent of single-use plastic bags end up as litter.

“You see plastic bags hanging in trees, blowing down the streets, in landfills and in our waterways, and there is no doubt they are doing tremendous damage,” Cuomo said at the bill signing. “Twelve million barrels of oil are used to make the plastic bags we use every year, and by 2050 there will be more plastic by weight in our oceans than fish. We need to stop using plastic bags, and today we’re putting an end to this blight on our environment.”

Under the law, businesses cannot distribute single-use bags unless they are used to carry certain food items, bulk items like fruits and vegetables, newspapers, garments, trash or prescription drugs. It also includes a provision allowing cities and counties to adopt a minimum 5-cent fee for paper bags, but Nassau County opted out. As a result, individual retailers can decide whether to charge for paper bags and declare the extra revenue as income.

The law also encourages customers to bring their own reusable and machine-washable bags, but if they use their own plastic bags to shop, retailers are required to recycle them.

Joseph Brown, senior vice president of King Kullen, declined to comment on the new ban.

On Sunday, the Rockville Centre supermarket had stocked up on canvas bags, which are selling for 99 cents, and posted signs alerting customers to the change.

Calls to Associated Supermarket in Rockville Centre were not returned by press time on Tuesday, but Brian Croutier, of the Rockville Centre Chamber of Commerce, said the store was switching to paper bags.

Croutier also said he had received mixed messages about how the ban might affect businesses. Bruce Blanke, manager of Halperin Footwear and Orthotics, noted that paper bags are two to three times more expensive than plastic bags, but added, “You’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do.”

Halperin Footwear began making the transition to paper bags last November, and is not charging customers for them. “I find it a fairly minor thing,” Blanke said. “It’s just a matter of switching our supplies. And a lot of people are very cognizant of the effect of plastic on the environment, so if a customer is buying one pair of shoes, they usually refuse a bag anyway.”

Chris Kavanaugh, owner of Rockville Centre Wine and Spirits, encouraged customers to bring their own reusable bags to the store because it would offset the cost of paper bags, which he is also not charging customers for. He said he planned to sell reusable canvas bags in the future, and the financial challenge “won’t be insurmountable.”

“I’m concerned that, where my average purchase is on the heavier side, there’s a lot of double bagging going on,” Kavanaugh said. “People will be wanting two bags at a time, where one bag would have done the job originally. But it’s a small price to pay to help save the environment.”