Less than a week after getting the support of the full City Council, Mayor de Blasio signs a bill that will impose a five-cent fee on plastic shopping bags.
Beginning in October, shoppers will pay five cents for every bag they get from most stores.
Restaurants, liquor stores, pharmacies and food pantries will be exempt from the fee.
Officials say the new law will be beneficial to the city.
"These bags clog our storm drains, get stuck in our trees, litter our streets," said Mayor Bill de Blasio. "And many, many end up in our landfills - we literally pay money to ship them out of town and put them in the ground and that's a lose-lose for everyone."
"I understand that change is difficult," said Manhattan City Councilwoman Margaret Chin. "However, if we are to make a significant dent in this gigantic amount of waste polluting our environment, all of us need to do our part."
The Sanitation Department says the five-cent fee could reduce waste by about 60%.
City officials say New Yorkers throw out 10 billion bags a year. It costs $12.5 million to dispose of them.