"Businesses are banned from using the thin plastic bags that have been clogging up landfills, getting tangled in trees and accumulating in lakes and seas, and a judge ruled that state regulators went too far by allowing stores to hand out thicker plastic bags"

"New York's never-enforced ban on single-use plastic bags has survived a lawsuit lodged by a plastic bag manufacturer and convenience store owners, but a state judge ruled Thursday that state regulators went too far by allowing stores to hand out thicker plastic bags.

A state law effective March 1 bans many types of businesses from using the thin plastic bags that have been clogging up landfills, getting tangled in trees and accumulating in lakes and seas. Single-use paper bags are still allowed, but counties have the option of imposing a 5 cent fee.

But the Department of Environmental Conservation agreed to delay enforcement of the law as the state fought to get a court to toss the lawsuit. And amid the COVID-19 pandemic, some retailers have prohibited customers from bringing in reusable bags that New York lawmakers hope to promote."

NBC 4 New York had the story August 20, 2020. [2]