FILE - In this March 27, 2019, file photo, oranges and tomatoes are displayed for sale alongside a roll of plastic bags at a supermarket in New York City's East Village. New York retailers have begun giving up single-use plastic bags as the state prepares for the March 1, 2020, implementation of a ban aimed at reducing pollution. But some worry the state's new regulations include a loophole that could potentially allow stores to phase in plastic bags thick enough to be considered multiuse. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

ALBANY — New York retailers have begun giving up single-use plastic bags as the state prepares for the March 1 implementation of a ban aimed at reducing pollution, but many of those who support a move away from plastic are worried the new law doesn’t go far enough.

The law bars many types of businesses from using the thin plastic bags that have been clogging up landfills, getting tangled in trees and accumulating in lakes and seas. Single-use paper bags will still be allowed, but counties have the option of imposing a 5 cent fee.

As the deadline to drop plastic bags nears, though, not all environmentalists are ready to celebrate.

Some worry the state’s new regulations include a loophole that could allow stores to skirt the ban by handing out plastic bags thick enough to be considered suitable for multiple uses.

“It is a giant loophole which they should close in the future,” said Judith Enck, a former administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency who now leads the environmental advocacy group Beyond Plastics. “It’s not good for the environment if you go from thinner plastic bags to thicker plastic bags.”

A final version of the regulations was released Monday and removed some provisions that plastic bag critics found objectionable, but they said the rules still fell short.

The regulations allow stores to hand out plastic bags if they are washable, can be used at least 125 times, carry 22 pounds (10 kg) over at least 175 feet (53 meters), and have an attached strap that doesn’t stretch with normal use. Regulators also proposed that any reusable plastic bags be at least one-hundredth of an inch thick. That’s thicker than required in California, which also limits the use of single-use plastic bags.

A spokesman for New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who signed the ban last year, dismissed concerns about the regulation being too flexible.

“These groups should stop promoting baseless conspiracy theories and focus their efforts on helping New Yorkers transition to re-usable bags,” spokesman Jason Conwall said.

Shoppers are encouraged to start using sturdy reusable bags, such as those made of canvas or polyester, said Basil Seggos, commissioner of the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation. His agency says the plastic industry probably lacks the machinery to produce thicker plastic bags that meet New York’s proposed standard and still be cost-effective.

“There’s always a period of transition where there’s resistance or uncertainty,” Seggos told The Associated Press.