"New York City Gives Nod To 5-Cent Charge For Store Bags"

"The New York City Council approved a bill on Thursday to require many merchants to charge 5 cents for each plastic or paper bag taken by consumers at checkout counters, and Mayor Bill de Blasio said he intended to sign it.

The bill, backed by 28 of the 48 council members, is designed to encourage consumers to shift to reusable bags in a city that goes through more than 9 billion of the flimsy white containers a year, according to the council.

Most of the bags used by shoppers are not recycled, forcing the city to pay millions of dollars to haul 91,000 tons of plastic and paper bags to landfills in other states each year, City Council spokeswoman Amy Varghese said."

Gina Cherelus reports for Reuters May 5, 2016.