At its March 27, 2018 general meeting, the Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group passed a resolution requesting support from state elected officials for a bill currently before the legislature that seeks to ban single-use plastic bags.
The resolution, addressed to local State Senator Velmanette Montgomery and local Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon, as well as members of the State Senate’s Environment Committee and the Assembly’s Standing Committee on Environmental Conservation, reads as follows:
Discarded single-use plastic bags pose a considerable problem in our local urban waterways. As we move towards cleanup actions in the Gowanus Canal, we have already noticed the extent of plastic bags included in recent dredging actions. The EPA has made the community aware of the need to bring about a change in community management of surface trash released into the waterway. We realize that the continued use of single-use plastic bags poses risks of recontamination of the Gowanus Canal after Superfund Cleanup measures are complete.
As a means of support on this matter, we are asking that you support the enactment of proposed legislation (S7760/A9953), sponsored by Assemblyman Steve Englebright and State Senators Brad Hoylman and Liz Krueger, which would place a ban on plastic carryout bags. This bill aligns with recommendations made by the NYC DEC Plastic Bag Task Force. We feel enacting this bill is a necessary step to eliminate the environmental harm resulting from these single-use plastic bags, particularly as they affect the public water ways and risk contributing to recontamination of the Gowanus Canal after Superfund Cleanup measures are complete.
You can download a copy of the full resolution here: CAG Resolution_Single Use Plastic Bags_180327