On May 4 the statewide bag ban goes into effect. Over the next two months, businesses, municipalities, schools, and nonprofits are taking steps to prepare for an event that may take some consumers by surprise.
If you already use reusable bags when you shop, then this state law, known as S.864, will have little to no impact on your consumer habits. However, recent observations by a member of the Hopewell Valley Green Team and Hopewell Township Environmental Commission indicate that the majority of Hopewell Valley residents show up at stores empty-handed.
Beginning May 4, those unknowing shoppers may no longer expect that businesses will provide a bag.
The law bans plastic bags, regardless of thickness, at grocery stores and retail outlets, as well as paper bags at grocery stores measuring more than 2,500 square feet. It also bans polystyrene foam food service products and makes plastic straws at restaurants available only upon request.
While the ban is most stringent for grocery stores, Mike Rothwell, president and general manager of Pennington Quality Market, believes that “by May 4, the Garden State promises to be cleaner and greener” due to implementing the most comprehensive law in the country.
“I believe that making more sustainable decisions today will protect our environment for future generations. Single-use plastic products are one of the single greatest contributors to litter and marine debris,” Rothwell says.
Joann Held, chair of the Hopewell Valley Green Team, shared similar views about ecological impact and also commented on the economic waste.
“Although each bag costs a tiny amount to make, when you manufacture, transport and dispose of (or recycle) millions of bags it really adds up! Second, while we all do our best to dispose of our bags responsibly, if each person in New Jersey loses just one bag each year into the environment, that is over 9 million bags per year caught in trees, polluting the water, and endangering animals,” she says.
Many municipalities, including Hopewell Borough, instituted bans prior to the state law. The new law supersedes bag ordinances already in effect, and prohibits new local legislation.
Rothwell noted that a consistently applied statewide law is more fair to both businesses and consumers. Without it, some businesses might be at a competitive disadvantage and consumers would need to navigate a patchwork of differing rules.
Hopewell Township Environmental Commission member Paul Kinney acknowledged the negative impacts of disposable bags but wondered if a ban could really make a meaningful impact. In his study, available at hopewelltwp.org, he calculates the reduction in tons of paper and plastic takeout bags at state and local levels and concludes that “the impacts of just this one law in one state will make significant improvements at the local and state levels with benefits felt beyond our borders.”
Everyone interviewed for this article agreed that educating the public was the single most important element for successfully implementing the law. Fortunately, legislators also recognized the need for education and allocated funding from the NJ Clean Communities Council to promote the switch to reusables. NJ Clean is the same litter abatement program that funds the Clean Communities biannual event featuring hundreds of residents in orange vests cleaning up Hopewell Valley streets.
Friends of Hopewell Valley Open Space has been administering Clean Communities for Hopewell Township for decades and is taking the lead on Hopewell’s BagUpNJ campaign. FoHVOS has engaged local businesses, the Hopewell Valley Green Team and Hopewell Valley Regional Schools to help spread its simple message: Bring your own reusable bags when you shop.
In addition Hopewell Township is working with FoHVOS to supply reusable bags to local businesses and residents and both the Valley Green Team and District Green Team will facilitate distribution.
Scott Brettell, HVRSD Director of STEM, leads the HVRSD Green Team and as part of their Green Week from April 17 to 23 plan to engage the community in climate friendly activities.
“HVRSD’s Green Team is partnering with Hopewell Township and FoHVOS to distribute reusable tote bags to each student during Green Week as a way to reduce plastic bag pollution and the effects of plastic on the environment,” he says.
Carolyn McGrath, CHS art teacher, added, “This initiative is an important step towards a waste-free future. In addition, I will be working with students in my art class to design posters that educate the community as well as promote reusable bag use. We will begin those mid-March and have them done by Green Week.”
Joann Held shared other ways to help. “Our Hopewell Valley Green Team began a re-usable bag exchange this past summer at our community events. We began by stocking an old (re-purposed) coat rack with our own surplus bags and offering them to shoppers at the Pennington Farmers Market who forgot their bags. We accept re-usable bag donations from the community to restock the rack.”
Unlike large grocery stores, small businesses may still provide paper bags. Heidi Wilenius, owner and curator of Dandelion Wishes in Hopewell Borough, stressed that it is still important for consumers to bring reusable bags.
“While it does not directly impact my shop, as I have never used plastic bags, I hope that the ban encourages even more people to get in the habit of bringing reusable bags with them wherever they shop, which will reduce the need for paper bags as well. I also think it is important for all of us to be mindful not to counteract the effect of the ban by mass-producing tons of flimsy reusable bags. Remember to use the bags you have — or go without when you have only a few items,” she says.
While FoHVOS and the Hopewell Valley Green Team coordinate BagUpNJ education across the Valley, there will be no shortage of educational materials. Students at area schools will design posters for local businesses.
Another great resource is the NJ Business Action Center that offers comprehensive information for businesses that may have questions about the ban. The NJBAC developed many helpful and easy-to-use online resources, including a vendor clearinghouse for businesses looking to buy compliant reusable carryout bags.
In the coming weeks, FoHVOS and the Hopewell Valley Green Team will enlist volunteers to post artworks and fliers with BagUp messaging throughout the Valley. PQM will be putting posters and other literature throughout the store, encouraging people to start bringing reusable bags now.
Their educational campaign for shoppers will also use the BagUpNJ materials. In addition, Rothwell said, “We are also working closely with our friends and partners in the New Jersey Food Council, of which I serve on the state board, to provide educational tools directly to grocers.”
The bag ban will reduce pollution and waste and generally help the earth, but will require a change in habits by both business and consumers. When asked about the effort, Rothwell said: “At our market, we are used to continual change, despite the fact our business has been in the same location since April 1960, way before my father purchased it in September 1981. We have watched the evolution of the supermarket industry over the decades, shifting our business model to serve the latest generation of grocery shoppers to include prepared foods and a full-service flower shop operated by my sister, Barbara Rothwell-Henderson.”
Rothwell’s readiness to embrace this new initiative is a positive sign that the bag ban can achieve its goal.
Hopewell Township Mayor Courtney Peters-Manning views the legislation in a local context: “As demonstrated by our strong commitment to open space, protecting our environment has always been a critical priority in Hopewell Township. We are honored to partner with FoHVOS and support BagUpNJ to help members of our community transition to reusable bags.”
Awareness about the upcoming ban is growing, and it’s a small change for consumers to bring their own bags and pay it forward. This is an opportunity for everyone in our community to help steward the earth.
,
