Hoboken Bans Plastic Bags (Even Reusable) And Styrofoam March 8

HOBOKEN, NJ — The city of Hoboken will ban all single-service styrofoam products, as well as all carry-out plastic bags from food service and retail stores (including the controversial "reusable" plastic bags at ShopRite and other supermarkets), starting March 8.

The city had actually already banned the use of plastic bags at stores last January, encouraging the establishments to offer customers paper bags for a small fee, or non-plastic reusable bags (usually 50 to 99 cents). But a few markets sold slightly thicker plastic bags for 10 cents each and billed them as "reusable." This drew the ire of some officials, including former Mayor Dawn Zimmer, who Tweeted about ShopRite's plastic bags last year: "Glad we got the plastic bag ban— looking forward to next real step at ShopRite. These 'reusable bags' [are] plastic & [are] not being reused."

The newest ordinance was adopted by the Hoboken City Council in August. It's part of Hoboken’s Climate Action Plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, as is the new Hoboken dual-stream recycling law whose enforcement took effect today (Monday, Jan. 6).

The city released this information about the March ban:

• Retail and food establishments must still make paper bags available to customers for a fee of 10-25 cents per bag. The establishments can use the fee to offset the cost of the bags.
• The following plastic bags are still allowed for free: produce bags, product bags (packaging), bags for frozen foods, meat, fish, flowers, plants, or baked goods, pharmacy prescription bags, newspaper bags, laundry or dry-cleaning bags, and packages of multiple bags, which includes pet waste bags.
• Residents are encouraged to utilize reusable bags at all retail and food establishments.
• All products made with expanded polystyrene (EPS), commonly known as styrofoam, will no longer be permitted for sale at retail or food establishments.
• That includes cups, containers, lids, closures, trays, plates, utensils, napkins, and more. However:
• Straws are not included in the new regulations.

The city explained, "In 2011, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services added styrene, a chemical found in styrofoam products, to its list of known or possible carcinogens. EPS isn’t biodegradable and can last in landfills for 500 years or more. For more information on the plastic and styrofoam ban, click here.