ALBANY, N.Y. -- Thousands of New Yorkers support banning single-use plastic bags, according to environmental organization Riverkeeper, which delivered petitions with 5,000-plus signatures to the state Capitol.

The proposed Bring Your Own Bag Act would also place a 10-cent fee on alternative bags, like paper. That's different from a proposal supported by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and Riverkeeper states it would encourage people to turn to reusable bags.

Money raised by the paper bag fee would go toward state parks, environmental programs and free reusable bags for low- and fixed-income New Yorkers.

Riverkeeper stated that each year, some 23 billion single-use bags are carried out of stores and eateries, with a majority ending up in landfills, and too many ending up in storm drains and on shorelines.