On January 1, 2018 a controversial new law was set in place in Suffolk County that charges customers five cents on most plastic and paper bags that are provided at stores. This bill was approved in September of 2016, however, it was not implemented until now.

According to a press release from Suffolk County, “This law is to encourage consumers to use their own reusable bags for shopping and to reduce the environmental impacts associated with single-use bags.”

Environmentalists have been strong supporters of passing this law and hope a positive change will be seen as a result. They claim that the plastic bags end up in waterways as litter, harming nature and the environment. The goal would be to see a curb in pollution and better treatment of nature and wildlife.

Adrienne Esposito, the executive producer of CCE (Citizens Campaign for the Environment), said, “Plastic bags are a mistake of the past, reusable bags are the solution for the future.”

Consumers were surprised, even frustrated, by this law as they took to platforms such as Twitter to explain their annoyance.  Legislator William Spencer, the bill’s sponsor, made a statement regarding concerns and questions: “Anytime there’s change and it’s inconvenient or requires us to do things we don’t normally do, change is scary.”

This new law is in full effect and now it’s up to consumers to decide the best course of action: continue to use plastic bags and pay the five cents or start using reusable bags.