Lawmakers in Ulster County, New York have voted in a law to ban plastic bags starting July 2019. The BYOBag Act received overwhelming support from citizens all over the county and this newly passed law is clearly a step in the right direction for Mother Earth, helping to reduce the amount of non-biodegradable waste produced in the area. According to a recent report, a whopping 20 billion single-use plastic bags are used in the state of New York each year!

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Before the law comes into force, officials will initiate an education campaign to let the public know about the negative effects upon the environment when using plastic bags; local authorities are also planning on offering residents reusable bags.

Starting July 2019, customers will have the option to pay 5 cents for a recycled paper bag at the checkout counter or bring their own reusable bag at the store (which is obviously the desired and encouraged option)

It is important to point out that the ban of plastic bags has been extremely successful in places where it has been implemented: for instances, the Netherlands has seen a 71 per cent drop amid the prohibition. Given the fact that humans dump over 8.8 million tons of plastic in to the ocean each year, one can only hope that many more authorities will take similar measures!