Plastic bag ban on hold

The state of the plastic bag ban for Madison County is currently up in the air.

The state launched a task force back in March to develop a report and propose legislation to address the detrimental impact of plastic bags on the environment, putting a stop to local efforts while officials wait to see how Albany intends on tackling the problem. The task force is leaning toward charging a fee for plastic bags as both a deterrent to their use and a revenue source for the state, turning the issue from environmental concerns into revenue, said Lebanon Supervisor James Goldstein.

“The market for recycling these bags is gone. They wreak

havoc on the machinery in the landfill and they poison the soil if they start to break down,” Goldstein said.

He said charging a fee for bags is hypocritical, considering the uproar New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio faced when he proposed a similar fee for single-use plastic bags.

Goldstein introduced the “Carryout Bag Reduc- tion” law in April 2017 and the Madison County Board of Supervisors held a number of public hearings to gauge the community’s opinion. The law sought to reduce pollution and control litter by eliminating single-use plastic carryout bags from certain retail stores, but was delayed after the state task force was formed.

Assemblyman Bill Magee, D-121, said he hasn’t yet formed an opinion on a plastic bag ban and hasn’t heard from the public on their stance. Sen. Da- vid Valesky, D-53, said he voted in the past against a plastic bag fee and is committed to finding ways to reduce plastic in the waste stream.

Goldstein isn’t convinced a fee will do anything to stop plastic bag consumption. The community needs to move away from a convenience culture to an environmentally- conscious one, he said, citing Aldi as an ex- ample of a local business looking for plastic bag alternatives. The company encourages shoppers to bring their own shopping bags or purchase reusable ones.

“I don’t have confidence in Albany,” Goldstein said. “Unless something affects them personally, they can’t wrap their head around it. These kind of initiatives are important to our survival.”

“I don’t have confidence in A lbany. Unless something affects them personally, they can’t wrap their head around it. These kind of initiatives are important to our survival.” — Lebanon Supervisor James Goldstein.