On Earth Day, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law a statewide ban on single-use plastic bags in retail stores that goes into effect next March. It’s estimated that New York uses 23 billion plastic bags every year, with 50 percent ending up in landfills and around cities and waterways. New York is the third state in which plastic bags are illegal, after California and Hawaii.

This article appears in the August 2019 issue of Natural Awakenings.