editorial 
 Are we ready for the death of the plastic bag? 
 BY KYLE VUILLE 
 The  plastic  bag  ban might  not  be  
 on  everyone’s  immediate  stream  of  
 thought at the moment, but on March  
 1, it will affect all New Yorkers. 
 I  think  it’s  hard  for New Yorkers  
 to  conceptualize  the  plastic  bag  ban  
 because  the  bags  have  just  become  
 another part of  the  ‘scenery’  of New  
 York. 
 There are very  few places within  
 the city where you don’t see a plastic  
 bag fl oating through the air. 
 I hope  that everyone will encourage  
 such  an  action  because  who  
 doesn’t  want  to  help  the  environment? 
 It seems more common  than ever  
 to see people using their own bags at  
 the grocery store in this eco-friendly  
 day and age anyways. 
 In the past couple years, I’ve seen  
 clusters of Aldi (German based company) 
  grocery stores pop up all across  
 They  do  not  offer  plastic bags  for  
 free  -  you have  to pay 10  cents a bag  
 -  so  if  you  forget  your  own  bags  at  
 home, they had a costly option. 
 Other  grocery  stores  like  Whole  
 Foods  and  Trader  Joe’s  joined  the  
 plastic-free commitment early on. 
 I  think  like  many  things  in  life,  
 there will be a learning curve. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 America. 
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 BRONX TIMES REPORTER,12      FEBRUARY 28-MARCH 5, 2020 BTR 
 At  the moment, NYC Department  
 of  Sanitation  as  well  as  individual  
 civic  groups  are  handing  out  reusable  
 grocery tote bags. 
 New York state law considers a bag  
 ‘reusable’ if the bag is capable of carrying  
 22 lbs. over 175 feet (minimum)  
 for  125  uses.  The  bag must  be made  
 of  cloth  or  other  machine  washable  
 fabric or a durable plastic at least 10  
 mils thick. 
 For reference, 10 mils would be the  
 equivalent of thickness of 10 sheets of  
 paper. The plastic bags being phased  
 out are .5 mils thick. 
 From my understanding,  the ban  
 will be lenient at fi rst because it will  
 take time to phase out the already existing  
 plastic bag supplies that stores  
 currently have in stock. 
 Some  folks  may  be  asking  themselves  
 “what  am  I  going  to  scoop up  
 my dog’s waste with?” 
 One of my  co-workers, who relies  
 on public transportation, questioned  
 if the new paper bags will have handles  
 like  the  plastic  ones,  to  carry  
 groceries home. 
 A  lot  of  the  issues  and  questions  
 coming  from  the  discussion  seem  
 trivial, but old habits die fast. 
 Better  be  safe  than  sorry,  keep  a  
 bag on you just in case. 
 Customer stands in front of FINE FARE on E. Tremont Ave. in Throggs Neck. The plastic bag  
 ban will become effective March 1st.  Photo by Kyle Vuille 
 Bronx Times launches new  
 redesigned website layout 
 BY STEVEN GOODSTEIN 
 Come visit our new website! The  
 Bronx Times website is on Word- 
 Press. 
 As of Monday, February 24, the  
 Bronx Times and Bronx Times Reporter  
 is  now  offi cally being run  
 through the WordPress open-source  
 content management system. 
 The new website features a new,  
 user friendly layout which provides  
 viewers with access  to online stories,  
 digital editions, a newsletter subscription  
 section, a public calendar including  
 community events and categories  
 including local news, sports, education, 
  real estate, arts, crime and more. 
 “With our newly redesigned and  
 revamped website, we, as well as our  
 readers, are keeping up with the digital  
 age,” said Bronx Times publisher  
 Laura Guerriero. “We are excited to  
 take the next step by expanding our  
 online presence with the launching of  
 this new website.” 
 “The Bronx Times and Bronx  
 Times Reporter are the most trusted  
 source of  local news  in  the borough,”  
 said Schneps Media CEO and co-publisher  
 Joshua Schneps. “The new website, 
  bxtimes.com, offers the most upto 
 New layout of the Bronx Times website.  
   Schneps Media/File photo 
 date technology with a clean design  
 and easy navigation.” 
 “We encourage you to visit our website, 
  signup for our email newsletters  
 and follow us across our social media  
 channels,” Schneps added. “We are  
 dedicated to informing residents with  
 quality content that can be accessed  
 across all platforms, and we hope you  
 enjoy the new site and welcome all  
 your feedback and story ideas.” 
 As of the date of the new website  
 launch, the Bronx Times website already  
 had 20,000 unique visits and  
 over 60,000 page views each week. 
 
				
/bxtimes.com
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