NEW YORK, Jan 10 (APP) — The New York city legislature passed a bill Wednesday requiring major stores and retail chains to collect and recycle plastic bags given to shoppers.
Under the measure, which cleared the City Council by a vote of 44-2, stores of 5,000 square feet or larger and chain operations with five locations in the city must provide recycling bins for plastic bags in a prominent place.
Stores are also required to print messages on the plastic bags they distribute that urge customers to return them for recycling.
Violators of the bill, which shall come into force six months after Mayor Michael Bloomberg signs it, could face a fine of 300 U.S. dollars a day.
New Yorkers use an estimated 1 billion plastic bags a year, against 86 billion for the whole of the United States, reports said.
The plastic bags have been blamed for serious environmental pollution and especially for choking birds, whales and sea turtles.