City sends out plastic bag warnings to merchants before ban
Store owners have to charge 5-cent fee starting Feb. 15
The Department of Sanitation has started sending out its first official notices to store owners around the city notifying them of the coming implementation of the new law mandating a five-cent per bag fee for plastic bags, according to a supermarket manager who is upset at the rule change.
Bob Capano, the manager of a Gristedes supermarket, said his store received an official notice that the law will go into effect on Feb. 15.
The informational flier contains a headline reading “First Official Notice,” along with an order mandating that the flier be placed somewhere in the store to inform customers of the rule change.
The City Council voted in May to approve a bill co-sponsored by Councilmembers Brad Lander (D-Park Slope) and Margaret Chin (D-Chinatown) to impose a five-cent per bag fee at grocery stores and retail stores. The new rule was originally scheduled to start this month, but the council took a second vote in June and decided to postpone the implementation of the fee until February of 2017.