The Morristown Environmental Commission is partnering with the Town of Morristown and Morristown Partnership to inform the public of the upcoming single-use plastic bag ban throughout the State of New Jersey (P.L. 2020, c.117).
This new law comes after New Jersey’s first plastic reduction law was adopted on Nov. 4, 2021, which regulates food establishments to only provide single-use straws upon customer request.
On May 4, 2022, stores will not be allowed to provide or sell single-use plastic carryout bags to their customers. Grocery stores larger than 2,500 square feet will not provide or sell paper single-use bags.
Additionally, the law states “no person or food service business shall provide or sell a polystyrene foam food service product or food in a polystyrene foam food service product to customers.”
The following bags are exempt from the statewide ban:
WHAT does this all mean?
Shoppers will have to bring their own reusable carryout bags when they go to stores starting May 4, 2022. A “reusable” bag, according to the state, is a bag which is designed to be used multiple times, has stitched (not glued) handles, and is made of polypropylene fabric, polyester (PET) nonwoven fabric, nylon, cloth, hemp, or other washable fabric. Bags billed as reusable must be able to be used at least 125 times to qualify.
WHY the ban on plastics?
According to NJ No Plastics, it is estimated by 2050 there will be as much plastic as there are fish in the world’s oceans, prompting governments to take action on curbing single-use plastic products.
Over 90 percent of single-use plastic products are not recycled and the U.S. is the largest producer of plastic trash in the world. Plastics are composed of a variety of toxic chemicals including styrene and bisphenol A (BPA) that are released when they break down. Plastics are now in the food we eat, the water we drink and the air we breathe.
It has always been the mission of the Morristown Environmental Commission to promote environmental education. Please begin using reusable bags now so that keeping them in your cars and bringing them into the store becomes second nature.
For additional information regarding the single-use plastic bag ban in NJ, please visit: https://www.nj.gov/dep/get-past-plastic/ or https://bagupnj.com/
Maureen Denman is chair of the Morristown Environmental Commission.
Damnit, I’m agreeing with Connor (partially). The china number is suspect because we used to send a ton of our “recycling” there – so sure, technically correct that China is “a source” but it’s plastics from the world over sent there… Most recycling has been something of a scam – we’ve just been offshoring our garbage basically. And also, good riddance to styrofoam – the cardboard replacements I’ve gotten at places like Pierogi House are much nicer.
I’m old enough to remember paper bags. They were fine, easier to pack (IMO), and absolutely reusable around the house, totally biodegradable, and can be made from a renewable source. The new ones with handles? Even better. Why not just allow them, and those that want to buy new (harder to recycle, longer lasting, not biodegrable at all) partially-reusable bags can do that.
Given all the problems in the world, this just feels like another way to make consumers worry about something that the producers of all this plastic junk should be concerned with. The petroleum industry will just pivot to another product, with no real reduction in plastic waste.
This is exactly the sort of do-nothing antics and performative nonsense that really makes Dems look like clowns, IMHO.
I have no problem with the plastic bag part of the law but I have a big problem with the paper bag restriction. Paper bags are recyclable and a renewable resource. Trader Joe has been using high quality paper bags for years. Banning them is a move by the super market lobbyists to save a few pennies per bag which would be hidden in the price of your grocery bill anyway and would put paper manufacturers and tree farmers out of work. Who do our politicians work for, the people who voted for them, or the lobbyists? Maybe the promise of a campaign contribution perhaps?
Ignoring the problem, solves nothing. Anything that we can do to help is better than nothing. Passing the back will not work. I’d just like to see fewer plastic bags on the streets and in the yards of Morristown.
“Breeding zone for harmful bacteria”
https://foodsmartcolorado.colostate.edu/food-safety/safe-preparation-handling-and-storage/reusable-grocery-bags-and-avoiding-foodborne-illness/
More silliness, rules, and control. Nothing more.
Idiotic, feel good measure by politicians. I give it less than 8 months before being repealed. I am more for clean oceans and recycling than anyone, but this does absolutely nothing to stop it. China, India, Thailand, and many other countries literally dump their plastics and garbage trucks into the waterways to get rid of it. US may be largest consumer but that certainly doesn’t mean largest polluter of plastics. And btw, most food plastics aren’t recycled because recycling centers don’t want plastics covered in food! It causes bad grade recycling that creates more pollution to clean than sending it to landfill, and also make the recycling centers overrun with rats.
People who responsibly use and dispose of plastic bags are punished by this nonsense.
Onegreenplanet.org states “Over 70.7 million kg of the plastic that ends up in the ocean comes from China…” https://www.onegreenplanet.org/environment/which-countries-are-dumping-the-most-plastic-into-the-ocean/
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