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Plastic bag fee: What you need to know

New Yorkers may soon have to pay 10 cents for each plastic bag they carry out of a store under a new law being proposed by the City Council. Advocates for the bill say it will cut into the nearly 100,000 tons of plastic bags that the city sends to landfills each year.

Here’s what you need to know about the proposed law:

  1. The law would cover most retail and grocery stores, including bodegas and “green carts” that sell produce.
  2. But not liquor stores.
  3. Mobile food vendors also would be exempt.
  4. And bags used to carry produce, meats, dry goods or for medications from pharmacies won’t cost anything more.
  5. Also exempt: People who receive food assistance from the government.
  6. Anyone who violates the law would be warned, then fined starting at $250 for the first offense. Fines would then go up to $500.