Town to decide on 5 cent bag charge Tuesday

By Linda Smith Hancharick
WARWICK — The Warwick Town Board has heard from dozens of residents since February on the proposed 5 cent fee on single-use carry out plastic and paper bags. Now, the board will make its decision on Tuesday, May 8.
The purpose of the proposed charge is to encourage the use of reusable bags for all purchases and decrease the number of plastic bags used in the town of Warwick. This includes at ShopRite and Price Chopper, both located in the town and both in support of the proposal.
The proposal would only apply to vendors within the town, not the villages. It does not include bags without handles, such as produce or bakery bags, pharmacy, dry cleaning and liquor store bags.
The board has reworked the original proposal after hearing from the public, making exemptions for those who use shop at home service at the supermarket.
Also exempt would be those who use New York State Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the New York State Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC).
More exemptions requestedGeorge Verno of Maskers Orchard explained to the board last week that his bags are used as a measurement. His customers buy a certain size bag and fill it. He asked that orchards be exempt from this charge.
“These people come from the city once a year,” said Verno. “These are pre-measured bags. It just doesn’t fit us. It will make things much more difficult for us.”
At the continuation of the public hearing in March, Penny Steyer, manager of the Warwick Farmers’ Market, spoke on behalf of the farmers who have stands at their locations. She said the Food Safety Modernization Act requires farm markets to package meats separately from produce and eggs.
Noting that agriculture is the town’s primary industry, Steyer said preventing cross contamination of foods is key to the ongoing viability of agriculture. Reusable bags, if not laundered, can increase the incidence of contamination. Steyer asked the board to consider an exemption for farm stands.
A split decisionWhile most of the residents who came to the board’s public hearing were in favor of the 5 cent charge as a way to reduce the use of plastic, The Warwick Advertiser conducted a poll of its readers and found that it was pretty evenly split between those in favor and those against. Those who responded with a Warwick zip code were 49 percent in favor of the charge and 51 percent against it.
The plastic problemWarwick alone uses 11 million plastic bags each year. And while many larger stores have recycle bins for the plastic bags, many say recycling them is not the answer because it is cheaper for companies to make new ones rather than recycle. A very small percentage of plastic bags are actually recycled.
Plastic isn’t just a problem here in Warwick. It’s a nationwide problem. New Yorkers use an estimated 23 billion plastic bags each year, according to the Department of Environmental Conservation.
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo introduced a bill last month to outlaw single-use plastic bags by next year.
Cities, municipalities and even states have taken this approach to help curb the growing plastic pollution problem. Legislation in Suffolk County, Washington, D.C., Chicago and the state of California has put a fee on single use bags. China, India and the European Union have placed fees or banned plastic bags. Ireland imposed a fee on plastic bags back in 2002 and within weeks, according to the New York Times, saw a 94 percent drop in the use of plastic bags.
Essential informationWarwick Town Board meeting
Tuesday, May 8, 7:30 p.m.
Warwick Town Hall
132 Kings Highway, Warwick