Is your grocery store still using plastic bags? DEC asks consumers to file a complaint Posted May 09, 2021 Some businesses have continued using plastic bags after the law went into effect in October. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel) Facebook Share STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) recently released an online form to report businesses that are not adhering to the plastic bag ban. The plastic bag ban went into effect in New York City in March 2020, but enforcement did not begin in October 2020 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The ban requires all entities that collect New York State sales tax to adopt a five-cent paper carry-out bag reduction fee and refrain from using carry-out plastic bags.