Can NY Bag Plastic Habit?

Now that conservation is chic, is it time for New York City to launch an East Coast trend? City Council members have introduced a bill that would require grocery stores to collect and recycle plastic bags that would be printed with the message: “Please return this bag to a participating store for recycling," reports the New York Times.

The bill has drawn a tepid response from Mayor Michael Bloomberg and is opposed by grocers. The US tears through an estimated 100 billion plastic bags a year. Some 90% of all grocery store bags are plastic. San Francisco already bans bags that aren't biodegradable, and California and Rhode Island have established plastic bag recycling systems. (More recycling stories.)