Sarah Trafton is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media while the state's plastic bag ban went into effect March 1, a lawsuit filed against the state Department of Environmental Conservation has caused enforcement of the ban to be put on hold until May 15. As a result, there has been a return of plastic bags in local stores. Poly-Pak Industries, Green Earth Food, Green Earth Grocery Store, Francisco Marte, The Bodega and the Small Business Association filed the case in February. Former EPA Regional Administrator Judith Enck, founder of Beyond Plastics, criticized the lawsuit. “I just don’t think that lawsuit has merit,” she said. “The Legislature had the authority to adopt this, stores had nine months to prepare. Poly-Pak is a plastic bag maker. They want to keep making plastic bags.” Riverkeeper Legislative Advocacy Manager Jeremy Cherson expressed a similar position. Enck and Cherson stressed there is no connection between reusable bags and COVID-19. Hannaford Supermarkets are among the stores that are bringing back plastic bags for the time being, spokesman Eric Bloom said. “The 5-cent charge for plastic and paper bags has been suspended,” he said. Price Chopper and Tops Markets also brought back the use of plastic bags in late March. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.