ALBANY - Starting next month, many New York retailers will be required to start recycling plastic shopping bags under a bill Gov. David Paterson signed into law on Saturday.

It applies to stores with more than 10,000-square-feet of retail space or those that are part of a chain with more than five stores, each with more than 5,000-square-feet of retail space. They'll be required to put out bins where shoppers can deposit the bags, recycle the returned bags, and keep records of how many are recycled.

With the new state law, local governments are pre-empted from adopting their own shopping-bag recycling laws. However, the governor says he expects lawmakers to amend the state law to include recycling of film plastics and allow New York City to retain its plastic-bag recycling program.