All Suffolk County retailers must comply with the New York State Bag Waste Reduction Act, codified at NY ECL Article 27 Title 28, banning single-use plastic carryout bags statewide since March 2020 with optional five-cent paper-bag fees.
New York Environmental Conservation Law Article 27 Title 28 prohibits retailers required to collect sales tax from distributing plastic carryout bags to customers, with limited exemptions for produce, prescription, and bulk-item bags. Counties may opt to charge a five-cent paper-bag fee, with revenue split between the state Environmental Protection Fund and local WIC programs; Suffolk County opted into the paper-bag fee. The state Department of Taxation and Finance and DEC share enforcement authority. Suffolk previously had its own county-level five-cent plastic-bag fee adopted in 2017, since superseded by the stronger state ban.
First retail violation is a written warning; subsequent violations carry civil penalties up to 250 dollars and 500 dollars for repeat offenses under DEC enforcement schedules.
See how Suffolk County's plastic bag rules rules stack up against other locations.
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