A bill that would ban plastic bags from grocery stores in New Jersey could get a lot stricter, according to the legislation’s sponsor.
State Sen. Bob Smith, a Democrat, wants the bill, which included ban plastic straws and Styrofoam containers, to also prohibit paper bags. The legislation, which seeks to push shoppers to bring their own reusable bags, currently has a 10-cent charge for paper bags.
“No bags whatsoever,” Smith told NJ.com. “No single-use plastic, no paper.”
Smith said he got the idea to ban all type of single-use bags came from a vacation in Aruba because no one was “grumbling” about a plastic bag ban and a fee on paper bags.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, vetoed a bill that would have put a tax on both paper and plastic bags because the legislation did not go far enough.
“While well intentioned, the approach reflected in this bill strikes me as incomplete and insufficient. Instituting a five-cent fee on single-use bags that only applies to certain retailers does not go far enough to address the problems created by overreliance on plastic bags and other single-use carryout bags,” he said in a statement.
Murphy comments publicly for first time on delay of Energy Master Plan. Was supposed to come out in June, now due in December. He says the delay is designed to “bring in more stakeholders to make sure they have seats at the table.”
— danielle muoio (@muoiod) May 1, 2019
Smith said he hopes the amendment will officially be added to the bill later this month and that it will be passed out of the state legislature by June.
