The Murphy Administration celebrated the state’s 1st anniversary prohibiting the use of plastic carryout bags and straws in all retail establishments and food stores throughout the Garden State.
Murphy signed the law in 2020, and the state began implementing it on May 4, 2022. The law prohibits grocery stores and other retail establishments from providing single-use plastic bags to customers, and additionally limits grocery stores with a minimum 2,500 square feet capacity or larger from providing customers with single-use paper bags.
Additionally, the law restricts the use of polystyrene foam food takeout containers and other polystyrene food service products which may no longer be provided to customers. Moreover, single-use plastic straws are only provided upon a customer’s request.
Law Prohibits Plastic Bags, Straws
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn LaTourette took the occasion to announce that a decrease in the use of plastic bags and containers has resulted in a significant reduction of litter throughout the state.
“New Jersey’s initiative to step up and say no to continued plastics pollution in our communities and waterways is worthy of celebration because we have quickly seen the positive effects of this law,” LaTourette said. “Removing single-use plastics, paper bags and foam food containers from our waste stream keeps our communities clean and protects aquatic and marine life as well as wildlife.”
Significant Reduction of Litter
The new law has seen several important environmental benchmarks within the past year:
- According to the New Jersey Food Council, an estimated 5.5 billion single-use plastic bags including 110 million single-use paper bags did not contaminate New Jersey’s waterways according to its 2,000 grocery store members between May and December 2022.
- A nearly 40% decrease in discarded litter consisting of single-use plastic bags, foam food containers and straws found along the Jersey Shore.
- A sizable reduction in the number of plastic straws from 17 million to 2 million per month purchased by food stores and handed out to customers within the Garden State.
State Sen. Bob Smith (D-17), a key sponsor of the law. proclaimed that the Garden State’s “is cleaner and greener because of New Jersey citizens’ efforts to keep plastics out of the environment.”
Protecting New Jersey’s Environment
For Assemblyman John McKeon (D-27) who pushed for the bill in the lower house, noted that the state has seen “a stark decrease” in the amount of single-use plastics sitting in landfills and polluting our communities in the last year.
“This is truly a victory for our state’s environment…to better protect our oceans, our communities and our health while fighting climate change,” said McKeon. “The statewide ban on single-use plastic bags demonstrates our commitment to preserving New Jersey’s environment and uplifting public health. I look forward to seeing the lasting positive impact of this law.”
New Jersey Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said reduction in the use of single-use plastics puts New Jersey at the forefront of efforts to protect our environment and builds on our commitment to public health through action.
The Next Steps
“Microplastics have the potential of causing cancer and other negative health effects on people. That’s a steep price to pay,” said Persichilli. “Reducing plastics and microplastics leads to healthier New Jerseyans and a more sustainable future.”
The DEP and its partner agencies will continue to focus on informing the public about the value and importance of reducing use of and reliance on plastic products, as well as overall waste reduction.
“Our next steps will be to continue educating the public about how and why these restrictions have a lasting difference on environmental protection,” said LaTourette.
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