New Jersey Legislators Push to Ban Both Plastic, Paper Bags
The bill, S864, prohibits the provision or sale of single-use plastic carryout bags, single-use paper carryout bags, polystyrene foam foodservice products as well as single-use plastic straws.
March 12, 2020 (Waste Today) - The New Jersey state Senate voted to ban single-use bags as well as Styrofoam and takeout containers across the state on March 5. The bill, S864, prohibits the provision or sale of single-use plastic carryout bags, single-use paper carryout bags, polystyrene foam foodservice products as well as single-use plastic straws. It also would appropriate money from the state's Clean Communities Program Fund for public education. According to a news release shared on NJ.com, the ban would take effect 18 months after receiving the governor's signature, and it would make straws available only upon request after one year. If the bill becomes law, New Jersey would become the first state to ban both plastic and paper carryout bags. According to the bill, "since 1950, global annual production of plastics has increased from 2 million tons to over 381 million tons; that approximately one-third of all plastics produced are single-use plastics, which are plastics designed to be used only once and then thrown away; and that an estimated 100 billion single-use plastic carryout bags and 25 billion Styrofoam plastic coffee cups are thrown away in the United States each year." The bill also states that "in 2017, only 8.4 percent of plastics in the United States were recycled" and "most single-use plastics are disposed of in landfills, are incinerated or become litter in waterways and oceans." The complete story is available on Waste Today's website: https://www.wastetodaymagazine.com/article/new-jersey-senate-pass-ban-plastic-paper-bags-carryout-containers SOURCE: Waste Today |