Andrew Craigie Andrew Craigie

‘Astounding’ Results From NJ’s Plastic Bag Ban, 6 Months In

Just six months into a statewide ban on single-use paper and plastic bags, billions of these bags have avoided circulation in New Jersey, advocates say. By the middle of next year, it's estimated that the state's law will have saved more than 8 billion bags, at food stores alone, from entering the cycle, and eventually waterways and landfills.

Read More
Andrew Craigie Andrew Craigie

California Expands Plastic Producer Probe Into Bag Manufacturers

California's attorney general on Wednesday sent letters to top plastic bag manufacturers requesting information about their claims that the bags they produce are recyclable, the latest move by the state to scrutinize the plastics industry and their role in the global plastic pollution crisis.

Read More
Andrew Craigie Andrew Craigie

Plastic Bags Are Supposed to Be Recyclable in California. The Attorney General Suspects They Are Not.

Nearly a decade ago, a California law required manufacturers of plastic bags to make their bags recyclable. The state’s top cop says this doesn’t appear to be happening. On Wednesday, Attorney General Rob Bonta sent letters to seven plastic bag producers that supply the bulk of California’s grocery stories, demanding they provide proof that their bags can really be recycled.

Read More
Andrew Craigie Andrew Craigie

New York Banned Plastic Bags Two Years Ago. Why Are They Still Everywhere?

Once ubiquitous, they’re now nowhere to be seen. Or at least, that’s what was supposed to happen when New York banned plastic bags for most uses in 2020. Yet two years later, many New York City supermarkets — not to mention smaller markets and bodegas — continue to distribute plastic bags as they always have.

Read More
Andrew Craigie Andrew Craigie

Watertown Resident Expands Efforts to Curtail Use of Plastics

Several years ago, Watertown’s Eileen Ryan pushed for Watertown to pass a plastic shopping bag ban, and now she has expanded her efforts statewide. In April, she founded Beyond Plastics Greater Boston, a local chapter of the national group Beyond Plastic. “After we passed the ban (in 2016) we all patted ourselves on the back and thought we did a great job. We really noticed that there are fewer plastic bags in the river, in trees around Watertown,” Ryan said.

Read More
Eve Fox Eve Fox

A Shot In The Arm For Recycling – And The Environment

In January, Governor Phil Murphy signed a bill into law that aims to build on and bolster recycling efforts across New Jersey by requiring more recycled content in a variety of packaging products. These include plastic and paper shopping bags, plastic food and drink containers, plastic trash bags, and glass bottles and containers.

Read More
Eve Fox Eve Fox

Plastic Bags Still Ubiquitous In NYC Shops, Months After Enforcement Of Ban Began.

The effectiveness of New York’s plastic bag ban could serve as a portend for other, similar bans on single-use plastics either already approved or under discussion at both the city and state legislative levels. To get a better sense of how its implementation is going, City Limits’ CLARIFY interns spoke to more than 50 bodega owners and store workers in the outer boroughs to see if they’re still using plastic, and if so, to tell us why.

Read More