New Jersey Law Banning Plastic, Paper Bags Goes Into Effect

(Credit: Bag Up NJ)

One of the most advanced paper and plastic bag bans in the United States has gone into effect in New Jersey.

Grocery stores and retailers can no longer distribute plastic bags regardless of thickness and paper bags are not allowed in grocery stores that are larger than 2,500 square feet. New Jersey is the first state to outlaw paper bags, although some non-grocery retailers can still distribute paper bags.

The law also bans polystyrene foam packaging from restaurants and food distributors and adds to a law that went into effect in November 2021 that makes plastic straws available only on request.

The plastic and paper bag legislation was signed in November 2020. The bill prohibits municipalities and counties from adopting any ordinances governing plastic and paper bags, polystyrene and straws, and any ordinances already in effect will be replaced according to the various products’ phase out schedules.

The state says paper bags are included because they also have a significant impact and require large amounts of energy, water and chemicals to make, and production includes waste and emissions. Due to their makeup the bags also require 10 times the number of trucks to distribute compared with similar quality bags, which further increases emissions.

According to Bloomberg, several retailers, including ShopRite and Instacart, are charging flat fees for reusable bags for online orders; Amazon’s Whole Foods will pack orders in reusable bags with no additional fees. Target is also switching to a bag-free experience in New Jersey, according to Bloomberg, and will give a 5-cent discount for each reusable bag used at the stores.

Retailers including Walmart, Target and Kroger joined the Consortium to Reinvent the Retail Bag in 2020, with members then committing more than $15 million to the initiative. A World Wildlife Fund program in which companies like Starbucks, McDonald’s and Procter & Gamble are involved, says it reduced hard-to-recycle and single-use plastics by 57% from 2018 and 2020.

McDonald’s in Canada began using paper straws at the end of last year, and Yankee Stadium began using a biodegradable straw this season, as examples of other efforts to tackle single-use plastic.

In 2016 California became the first state to ban plastic bags at retailers. It was estimated by Californians Against Waste that plastic grocery bag waste in the state had dropped by 72% compared to 2010 levels a year after the law went into effect.

Ten states have plastic bag bans, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, and 20 more have preemptive legislation in place. The organization says 95 bills were introduced in state legislatures in 2019, most banning or placing fees on plastic bag use.

The New Jersey bill establishes a plastics advisory council in the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. The council will have 16 members, including four representatives from stores and food service businesses and they will monitor implementation of the law and evaluate its effectiveness.