Another prohibition on plastic bags may be in the works, which could benefit promo firms that sell into the Empire State.

During his 2019 budget proposal address on Tuesday in Albany, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that he will recommend a statewide ban on single-use plastic bags.

Plastic bags are trash.

I’m including provisions in my executive budget to ban single-use plastic bags and expand New York's Bottle Bill to make most non-alcoholic drink containers eligible for 5 cent redemption. Let's protect our environment. pic.twitter.com/71DjHpYHEV

— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) January 13, 2019

Even so, details on the potential ban are currently vague. A statement from Cuomo’s office simply said he would propose to prohibit “single-use plastic bags.” The timing and specific items to be outlawed were not specified.

This isn’t the first time that the governor has proposed a ban. In April of last year, Cuomo proposed similar legislation that was eventually stopped by republicans in the State Senate. In 2017, Cuomo opposed a proposed 5-cent fee on plastic bags that consumers would have to incur, arguing that since businesses that sold the bags would be able to keep the fee, they’d bring in an extra $100 million a year.

The proposal in 2018 included exceptions for bags that contained raw meat, fish or poultry; those used for bulk packaging of fruit and dried goods; restaurants’ takeout food bags; and newspaper bags. Such exceptions were not stipulated in this week’s proposal.

A prohibition on plastic bags poses potential opportunity for promotional products firms, as companies look to reusable bags to serve their customers. Last month, the European Union proposed that all single-use plastic cutlery, plates, straws and drink stirrers, along with balloon sticks and food containers made of expanded polystyrene, be outlawed within its borders. In the U.S., Washington State and Denver also proposed bans in December.