Here's What The NJ Plastic Bag Ban Would Do

NEW JERSEY — Remember that green reusable bag you got at your town's Earth Day Festival last year? You might want to dig it out because stores will likely soon no longer be able to use plastic and paper bags.

In an attempt to reduce the amount of waste generated statewide, New Jersey lawmakers passed a bill Thursday that prohibits businesses from using single-use plastic bags and other disposable containers.

Bill S864/A1978 will now head to Gov. Phil Murphy’s desk, but his stamp of approval isn’t a sure thing. He vetoed similar legislation in 2018 because it didn't go far enough; that bill would have imposed a 5-cent fee on plastic grocery store bags.

Murphy, however, signaled on Friday that he will sign the bill this time, saying he likes what he sees in the package.

State Senator Bob Smith, D-Middlesex/Somerset, who co-sponsored the Senate bill, said that, for decades, plastic pollution has caused significant damage to the environment and to public health.

“Taking action to fight plastic pollution now is key to moving towards a plastic-free future," he said. "Plastic bag bans have proven effective in cities such as Los Angeles, which saw a 94 percent drop in single-use bags. I want to thank the Assembly for advancing this important legislation and for bringing this hard-fought battle closer to its successful conclusion.”

If approved by Murphy, the bill would:

• Bans the use of plastic bags
• Bans the use of paper bags
• Bans the use of polystyrene cups and containers
• Limit the use of plastic straws, which would only be available upon request one year after the law takes effect
• Appropriate money from the Clean Communities Program Fund for public education.

Exemptions are made for:

• Disposable, long-handled polystyrene foam soda spoons when required and used for thick drinks
• Portion cups of two ounces or less, if used for hot foods or foods requiring lids
• Meat and fish trays for raw or butchered meat, including poultry, or fish that is sold from a refrigerator or similar retail appliance
• Any food product pre-packaged by the manufacturer with a polystyrene foam food service product
• Any other polystyrene foam food service product as determined necessary by the state.

The law would also require the state Department of Environmental Protection to establish a permanent Plastics Advisory Council that would:

• Recommend ways to reduce the use of plastics and the amount of plastics entering the environment
• Recommend ways to increase the rate of recycling
• Evaluate how the law is being implemented each year
• Study the health impacts of plastics and alternatives to plastics.

Should Murphy sign the law, businesses would be fined up to $1,000 for a second offense, and up to $5,000 for a third offense and every offense thereafter. The first offense would warrant just a warning.

The bill would be enforced by both local and county governments, as well as the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. It would take effect 18 months after Murphy signs it.

“If you go to the shore, you see plastic buried in the sand and floating in the ocean. There are an estimated 150 million metric tons of plastics currently in our oceans and about eight million metric tons are added each year,” said State Senator Linda Greenstein, D-Mercer/Middlesex, who also co-sponsored the bill. “We have heard from countless activists and residents around the state, and they have made it clear that they are sick of plastics polluting our ecosystem. Now that this bill is heading to the Governor, New Jersey is closer than ever to a cleaner, greener future.”

The legislation does have the support of environmentalists across the state, who called it, “the strongest legislation in the country to reduce single-use plastics to clean-up our communities and the environment.”

“The New Jersey Legislature has just set the international standard today by banning single use carryout bags and foam containers,” stated Amy Goldsmith, NJ State Director, Clean Water Action. "I could not be prouder of the hard work of the bill sponsors, our members and businesses who get that NJ's future is not in disposables. Making this paradigm shift to reusables today, preventing waste rather than managing waste by the ton, is what we must do to protect our health, climate and planet.”

The bill passed the Senate with a vote of 25-13, with two members not voting. The vote in the Assembly was 48-24, with six members not voting.