The New Jersey Food Council (NJFC) is thankful to NJ Governor Phil Murphy for signing A-1978/S-864 today, in what becomes the most prolific single use disposal bag ban law in the nation. NJFC has continually advocated for a uniform statewide standard to phase out single use plastic and paper bags and encourage the use of reusable bags in New Jersey. The action taken by the Governor today does just that.
The ban on both paper and plastic bags is critically important as paper bags have just as significant of an environmental impact as plastic bags. Without this ban, consumers would have simply moved to paper single-use bags, failing to address the underlying goal of reducing our reliance on single-use products.
Most importantly, this law ends the proliferation of varying local ordinances. The unworkable patchwork underscored the importance of having this smart, uniform statewide law that preempts all local ordinances.
The New Jersey Food Council extends its appreciation to Governor Murphy, Senate Sponsor Bob Smith and the State Legislature for creating this uniform standard for the entire state.
The above statement can be attributed to Linda Doherty, President & CEO, New Jersey Food Council