Map of New York State Bag Laws

New York State plastic bag laws can be hard to keep up with. In a collaboration with Korin Tangtrakul, we created this map that gives a snapshot of the current laws in New York State as of January 2019. Download the map here.

Notes on the map key

Moratorium: In 2016, the New York City Council adopted a minimum 5-cent fee on all carryout bags (plastic, paper, reusable). In 2017, the state legislature adopted a moratorium bill blocking NYC’s bag fee from going into effect and blocking attempts at reinstating the NYC bag fee until 2018. Governor Cuomo signed the moratorium bill. The moratorium only applies to NYC, so several New York State municipalities have adopted bag laws in the time since NYC’s law was overturned. As of January 2018, NYC was technically allowed to pursue a bag fee, but NYC Council didn’t move forward, likely because the state legislature was still made up of the same members and another moratorium could reasonably be expected. 2019 brought big changes to the state legislature and advocates are hoping for a renewed push for a NYC bag law.

In discussion: This is a very broad category and includes jurisdictions where a legislator or a citizen advisory group has taken up the issue.