TRENTON – New Jersey’s ban on carryout bags, the toughest crackdown in the nation, goes into effect May 4, a year and a half after Gov. Phil Murphy signed the legislation in November 2020.
This is the same legislation that banned plastic straws in late 2021.
Although the legislation is broadly referred to as a “plastic bag ban,” there is more to the bill than meets the eye. Plastic bags are not the only thing that customers will no longer be able to find from several retail and restaurant locations.
What’s Banned and Where?
New Jersey Public Law Chapter 117 defines a carryout bag as “a bag that is provided by a store or foodservice business to a customer for the purpose of transporting groceries, prepared foods, or retail goods.” All plastic bags that meet this definition will no longer be available from the usual locations.
An additional wrinkle is that paper bags will also be prohibited at all grocery stores that are more than 2,500 square feet. This includes every Acme, Aldi, ShopRite, and other large chain grocery store. Paper bags will still be available for free at places like Wawa, Walgreens, and CVS. The paper bag ban only applies to grocery stores.
What counts as a grocery store? The lines are often blurry when stores like Walmart and Dollar General carry groceries, as well as a multitude of other products.
The legislation defines a grocery store as anywhere that sells “household foodstuffs for offsite consumption,” but stores that only sell prepackaged food and do not sell “food that does not require time or temperature controls for food safety” do not count as grocery stores.
Dollar stores that sell fresh produce will thus be defined as “grocery stores” and cannot carry paper bags.
Unlike other states where plastic bags were “banned,” like Delaware and Connecticut, customers will not be able to pay a small fee to use store-provided plastic or paper bags. If a customer forgets to bring a bag, they must purchase a reusable bag that meets the requirements laid out by the legislation.
According to state law, a reusable bag is one that “is made of polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) nonwoven fabric, nylon, cloth, hemp product, or other machine-washable fabric, has stitched handles, and is designed and manufactured for multiple reuses.”
What About Restaurants?
Restaurants will also see a shakeup when this legislation takes effect. Polystyrene foam containers are part of the ban. Foam containers are a common sight for takeout boxes, but they will no longer be allowed in New Jersey after May 4, with a few exceptions for cups under two ounces, meat and fish trays, and some spoons. After 2024, these remaining allowed polystyrene foam will also be prohibited.
Bring Reusable Bags
Although this legislation seems complicated at first blush, it is clear in its intent to push customers towards reusable bags. Customers should get used to storing a generous number of reusable bags in their vehicles, just in case. If a customer is going to a grocery store, they will always need to bring their own bags.
The bag ban was spurred out of concern for the environment. The legislation gives many examples of the ways that plastic has become an escalating environmental hazard. The opening body of the law says that “it is no longer conscionable to permit the unfettered use and disposal of single-use plastics in the state.” The items banned by the law were cited by the legislation as “among the most significant sources of beach and ocean pollution.”
To contact Collin Hall, email chall@cmcherald.com.
