A disposed plastic bag.Photo/www.nbcsandiego.com
Supermarkets are set to collect paper bags and recycle them in a new agreement with NEMA.
According to NEMA's chief enforcement officer, Robert Orina, the recyclers have been asked to collect the bags from supermarkets.
“We have contracted recyclers and licensed them [so the work can begin as soon as] they declare the types of plastic bags they can handle. We ask individuals with plastic bags to take them to the nearest supermarket," he said.
NEMA said the ban on plastic bags does not affect flat bags used in industrial packaging.
The manufacturers were given six months to clear their stock.
The plastic bag ban came into effect on Monday.