Last summer, New Jersey was on the verge of becoming a national leader in efforts to curb the use of plastic bags and cutback on plastic waste.
But when a bill landed on Gov. Phil Murphy’s desk, it was deemed not strict enough and vetoed. Murphy asked lawmakers to try again.
Now a growing number of states are outlawing single-use plastics. Maine became the latest on Tuesday, when the Gov. Janet Mills signed a new law banning polystyrene food containers, including Styrofoam. New York passed a statewide ban on single-use plastic bags at the end of March.
All the while, the stricter measure that Murphy requested for New Jersey is idling in the Statehouse.
That bill (S2776) calls for bans on single-use plastic bags, plastic straws and polystyrene food containers. It also places a 10-cent fee on paper bags.
But it soon may go even further.
State Sen. Bob Smith, D-Middlesex, the head of the Senate Environment and Energy Committee, said he will push for the bill, which he sponsored, to be amended to include a ban on paper bags, as well. Smith said the move is aimed at pushing Garden State residents to further change their shopping habits and bring their own bags from home.
“No bags whatsoever," Smith said. "No single-use plastic, no paper.”
Smith said inspiration for a total bag ban came from a recent vacation he took with his wife to Aruba.
“Nobody’s grumbling," Smith said of the Arubans he saw at the grocery store bringing their own bags. "Everybody in the line, they all do it.”
Aruba has banned stores from handing out plastic bags and has put an island-wide fee of 50 cents in Aruban Guilders — about 28 cents in American currency — on paper bags, according to a spokeswoman for the Aruban government.
The bill is currently waiting consideration in the Senate budget committee after being passed by Smith’s environment committee last September. Amending the bill to include the ban on paper bags will have to be done by the budget committee. Smith hopes that the amendments will be made this month, and that the legislation will be passed out of the Senate in June.
Smith said that Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, is on board with the total bag ban. Sweeney did not respond to a request for comment.
A spokesman for Murphy did not respond to questions about Smith’s stricter proposal.
In an appearance on WNYC on Wednesday night for “Ask Governor Murphy,” the governor said that he still wants some form of statewide plastics regulation for New Jersey. But he made clear that he is not currently committed to a specific policy and is open to ideas.
“I know we have to ban some member of the plastics family,” Murphy said.
The New Jersey Food Council, which represents the interests of supermarkets across the state, is supportive of banning both plastic and paper bags, according to the group’s president, Linda Doherty.
“As more customers shift their shopping habits and bring reusable bags, we think it’s a sensible solution to phase out and ban both plastic and paper single use bags,” Doherty said. "As customers choose to reuse, we support this uniform progressive policy at the checkout. We are prepared to work with the Legislature and the Murphy administration on a statewide standard.”
Sandra Meola, New Jersey Audubon’s director of the Coalition for the Delaware River Watershed, has been a constant voice among environmentalists pushing for statewide regulation of single-use plastics. Meola said she is intrigued by Smith’s idea to ban both plastic and paper, noting that the grocery chain Aldi already does business without giving any bags to customers.
But Meola said she couldn’t be sure if she supported Smith’s proposal without actually seeing the amendments in writing first. She worries about possible loopholes that could lead to thicker plastic bags being handed out for free, which could undercut the goal of changing customer behavior.
“You still need a fee for that free bag at the end of the day,” Meola said. “No free bags.”
Michael Sol Warren may be reached at mwarren@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MSolDub. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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