Upstater

“No thank you,” says New Paltz village

In case you missed it (or, as the kids like to say, ICYMI), the New Paltz village board voted unanimously in favor putting the kibosh on plastic grocery bags. You know the ones that you now have a billion of underneath your kitchen sink, unsure of what to do with them next (recycle them at participating grocery stores, of course). The ban on plastic begins in April, and already, some businesses are grousing about having to pay extra for non-plastic alternatives. That’s a shame, but do you know how long it takes one of those plastic bags to break down? One thousand years. ONE THOUSAND YEARS. So stock up on reusable grocery bags, Hudson Valley. New Paltz (only the village; the town of New Paltz has no such ban in place)  is the first place to do it in this area, but we promise they won’t be the last. Read more about the plastic ban here at the Times-Herald Record online.