Poll: Should NYC Have A 5 Cent Fee On Plastic Bags?

We just can’t seem to agree on how to go about using plastic bags in Brooklyn. Many commenters north of Prospect Park seem to be all for the 5 cent bag fee. But south of the park — not so much.

Senator Simcha Felder has been leading the effort to revert the fee, which was set to go into effect on February 15. Felder’s legislation passed the State Senate earlier this month.

To become law, the bills would have to be passed by both houses of the legislature and then signed by the Governor.

Proponents of the plastic bag fee, which passed the City Council 28-20 last May, say it will rein in the ubiquitous use of shopping bags — that pile up every year in landfills. Spearheaded by Council Member Brad Lander, the new five-cent fee on paper and plastic shopping bags was scheduled to go into effect on February 15.

Strictly speaking, the 5-cent fee is not a tax. The money is kept by retailers and does not go back to the City. In addition, New Yorkers purchasing groceries with food stamps or via the WIC program are actually exempt from the fee, as are soup kitchens.

The Daily News ran a scathing editorial this morning, calling those working to repeal the fee the “dirty dozen”.

They are joined by Assemblymember William Colton, whose district includes parts of Bensonhurst, Gravesend, and Bath Beach, and community leaders Nancy Tong and Charles Ragusa, who are circulating petitions demanding Mayor De Blasio impose a moratorium on the 5¢ fee. Their stated goal is to “push the starting date of this tax to at least July 1, a period during which local residents would be free from the burdensome tax and proper legislation could be passed to address this issue of reducing plastic bag use without taxing our families.”

Where do you stand on the issue?

[poll id=”3″]