Is there anything more Un-American than New York's plastic bag ban? | Emma Brockes

This city hates prohibitions of any kind. But maybe a plastic-free future will force us out of our comfort zoneFor the last six months, notices have gone up at the checkouts of most supermarkets in New York warning customers of a forthcoming change. You can't live in this city without ignoring things. At any given point, avoiding the roaches, the smells and the creeping sense that in 50 years we will be underwater takes up fully 10% of one's energy. At the top of that list has been the energetic avoidance of actually reading the sign at the checkout informing us that on 1 March plastic bags will be banned - not just subject to surcharge, but outlawed - across the entire state of New York. If the city is unprepared for coronavirus, it is safe to say this is nothing next to the scenes that will greet us on Sunday morning, when people with a weekly shop in their trolleys arrive at the checkout.It is quite thrilling, not least because banning things runs so contrary to the American idea. More than 23bn plastic bags are used in New York each year, and the planet is dying, but even so, the Bag Waste Reduction Law is so muscular, so big government, that no one can quite believe it is happening. There are a few workarounds. You will still be able to buy paper bags, for 5c each, but stores aren't required to provide them. And some supermarkets are offering reusable plastic bags. (To qualify as "reusable", a bag has to be able to carry 22lbs over a distance of 175 feet, which it is pleasing to imagine the bag police trying to test and enforce). Continue reading...