New Jersey's plastic bag ban: What to know
Gov. Murphy signed the bill to ban bags, other single-use plastic items in 2020
New Jersey's plastic bag ban took effect on Wednesday.
Gov. Phil Murphy signed the bill to ban bags and other single-use plastic items in November 2020.
In a release, the governor's office called the legislation, S864, the "strongest" bag ban in the nation, as it also prohibits paper single-use bags in all stores and food service businesses statewide.
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"Plastic bags are one of the most problematic forms of garbage, leading to millions of discarded bags that stream annually into our landfills, rivers, and oceans," Gov. Murphy said in a November 2020 statement. "With today’s historic bill signing, we are addressing the problem of plastic pollution head-on with solutions that will help mitigate climate change and strengthen our environment for future generations."
The "Bag Up NJ" campaign – the New Jersey Clean Communities Council’s new single-use plastic and paper bag ban outreach campaign – noted that papermaking requires large inputs of water, energy, chemicals and wood and produces various wastes and emissions that must be controlled or treated.
A woman walks with plastic shopping bags (iStock / iStock)
"Additionally, paper bags require ten times the amount of trucks to deliver the same quantity of bags, resulting in increased truck traffic and diesel emissions," they said.
Disposable food containers and cups made out of polystyrene foam are also banned and food service businesses were only allowed to provide single-use plastic straws upon request starting in November 2021.
However, there are some exceptions.
According to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, single-use paper carryout bags are allowed to be provided or sold, except by grocery stores equal to or larger than 2,500 square feet.
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In addition, some products were listed as exempt for an additional two years after May 2022.
Those items include disposable, long-handled polystyrene foam soda spoons, portion cups of less than 2 ounces used for hot foods or foods requiring lids, meat and fish trays for raw or butchered meat 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 and any other polystyrene foam food service product as determined necessary by Department of Environmental Protection.
The effort would tackle pollution in the state.
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According to Bag Up NJ, the bill provides that the Department of State and the state Department of Environmental Protection establish a program to assist businesses with compliance.
There are also penalties, with a warning for a first offense, a second offense costing up to $1,000 and a third or subsequent offense reaching as much as $5,000.
"Penalties for violations will be deposited in the Clean Communities Program Fund, except that a municipality may retain 30% of any penalty it collects," the campaign said.
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NJ.com reported on Thursday that most grocery stores had said they planned on distributing a new set of reusable bags with every online grocery order, though some big box stores said they won't be using any type of bag.
The outlet noted that community groups are working to get free bags to people who need them.
In August 2014, California became the first state to enact legislation imposing a statewide ban on single-use plastic bags at large retail stores, and multiple states have implemented similar bans.