Metro

Proposal would levy 10-cent fee on paper, plastic shopping bags

The choice between paper or plastic bags could soon come with a new burden: a 10-cent fee.

Under legislation set to be introduced by City Council members Wednesday, stores would be required to charge a dime for every paper or plastic bag customers use to haul goods home.

The eco-friendly bill has the support of 19 council members who have signed on as sponsors, seven short of the 26 needed to pass it.

Public Advocate Letitia James, too, has signed on.

A similar measure introduced in August 2013 had only eight sponsors, and never got a hearing.

“New Yorkers use 1 billion disposable, single-use plastic bags every year. It costs the city a lot of money, winds up in trees, clogs up storm drains, and messes up the recycling plants,” said Councilman Brad Lander (D-Brooklyn), a prime sponsor along with Councilwoman Margaret Chin (D- Manhattan).

Lander said banning plastic bags alone would lead consumers to simply switch to paper bags, which are only marginally less harmful to the environment.

“Cities across the country have shown that by using a very modest incentive, the vast majority of people will bring a reusable bag when shopping,” he said.

Similar measures in Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, DC, have cut down bag waste in those cities, advocates say.

The 10-cent fee would go to store owners rather than ton city coffers. But the city expects to save money by reducing harm caused by plastic bags clogging storm drains and jamming machinery at recycling plants.

The city spends $10 million a year to ship used plastic bags to landfills.

Lander said the council and a coalition called Bag It NYC would seek to raise private funds for a reusable-bag giveaway, primarily for low-income neighborhoods.

“People can choose to not pay [the fee] at all by bringing a reusable bag to the grocery story,” he said.

Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, who has not signed on as a sponsor, is still reviewing it, a spokesman said.

Mayor de Blasio’s campaign had proposed a goal of zero waste for the city with, in part, “bans on plastic bags.”

“This administration is committed to reducing waste, and looks forward to reviewing the City Council legislation,” a spokesman said.