“Under this bill, New Yorkers can expect a future where they’re grabbing unwrapped products — from cereals, to cheeses, to hot dogs — from grocery store bins before buying them and carrying them home,” Nelson Eusebio of the National Association of Supermarkets told The New York Post. The bill passed the Senate but hasn’t been brought to a vote in the Assembly.
Bill supporters scoffed and said there were alternatives available, like using paper.
“It’s clear that some multibillion-dollar corporations and their lobbyists are not ready for the world-shattering concept of separating cheese slices with wax paper,” said Judith Enck, the president of the advocacy group Beyond Plastics.
Four other states — California, Colorado, Oregon and Maine — have adopted laws designed to cut down on packaging. States and cities are also increasingly banning single-use plastic bags. New York State and Baltimore have sued plastic manufacturers for harming public health and the environment by promoting single-use plastic.
Some companies are starting to make changes.
Last month, Amazon said it would replace its plastic air pillows, designed to cushion products during shipment, with recycled-paper packing, a move that would avoid the use of almost 15 billion pillows a year. Bath & Body Works recently introduced hand-soap refills in paper cartons. In Britain, Aldi, the grocery chain, is experimenting with paper bands to package bananas instead of bags, and is also selling wine in paper bottles.
