New York joined California, Oregon, Hawaii and four other states as the eighth state in the nation to ban single-use plastic bags. The ban, which began on Sunday, March 1, applies to “all plastic carryout bags” distributed by “anyone required to collect New York State sales tax,” according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
The state’s ban on plastic bags contains a provision that authorizes localities to place a 5-cent fee on paper bags to further incentivize the use of reusable ones. However, critics fear that in areas where this fee is not implemented, people will simply use paper bags in the same way they used plastic bags, effectively creating the same amount of waste. Others believe that such a fee is unfairly punitive to economically disadvantaged consumers.
At Hofstra University, some students worry that the statewide plastic bag ban may motivate the University to charge a substantial fee for reusable cloth bags. “Most likely, Dutch [Treats] or the Student Center will start selling reusable bags, so Hofstra would effectively be making money off the ban,” said Austin Van Schaick, a senior history major. “If [reusable bags are] available for purchase with meal points … the price will be extremely inflated.”
According to Lisa Ospitale, the district marketing director for Hofstra Dining Services, the University’s dining facilities will provide both paper and reusable bags to customers. “Hofstra Dining Services will offer a reusable tote to purchase or a brown paper bag for the 5-cent fee,” she said. The cost of the reusable totes were not specified.
The University’s dining services have already implemented initiatives designed to reduce plastic waste. “[Hofstra Dining Services] has removed plastic straws from the Student Center, available by request only,” Ospitale said. “Our takeout containers are biodegradable and so are our napkins.”
Other students feel that the lack of available plastic bags on campus will prove to be inconvenient. “I usually carry my food with me to class, my room or to work. It’s easy to grab a plastic bag and go,” said Dominique Brown, a senior criminology major. “If they run out [of reusable bags] what am I supposed to use? Especially when students go shopping at Dutch [Treats], we usually need bags to carry our groceries out.”
Robert Brinkmann, a professor of geology, environment and sustainability and proponent of the ban, discussed the devastating environmental impact of plastic in a recent post on his blog, “On the Brink.”
“Sea turtles, birds, marine mammals and fish are all vulnerable to plastic bag waste. Once they ingest the plastic, it clogs their digestive systems and they die slow painful deaths,” Brinkmann wrote.
Expressing support for the ban, Brinkmann cited the availability of “plenty of reusable alternatives to plastic bags” that he believes New York state citizens, including Hofstra University students, will “just have to get used to” utilizing.
Grace Sanker, a freshman biology major, also supports the ban and is willing to sacrifice the convenience of readily available plastic bags for the knowledge that she is helping to protect the environment. “I think [the ban] will make students more conscious of their actions and how they impact the environment,” Sanker said. “I don’t think it will be an inconvenience because it’s as simple as rolling up a small tote bag and keeping it in your backpack.”
An estimated 14.5 million tons of plastic containers, including plastic bags, were generated in 2017, the majority of which ended up in landfills, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency. In New York state alone, residents use 23 million plastic bags annually.
Though it remains to be seen whether the New York state plastic bag ban will be effective in reducing plastic waste, many, including state governor Andrew Cuomo, feel hopeful that it will. In an official statement released in 2018, Cuomo said, “We are helping to leave a stronger, cleaner and greener New York for all.”
