Speaker, New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education Webinar, "New Jersey’s Plastic Pollution Reduction Act: Challenges and Opportunities"

Single-use plastic bags have long been recognized for their polluting impacts, because they do not biodegrade and can be found in land and waterways decades after they are disposed of. Stemming from this massive pollution, microplastics can be found in marine life and in humans who are impacted up the food chain. In New Jersey, it is estimated that the average resident uses 500 single-use plastic bags a year for an average of twelve minutes. Compared to other uses, single-use plastic bags used in grocery stores can be easily replaced at low cost by reusable bags made of cotton, burlap and other durable materials.

On November 4, 2020, Governor Murphy signed NJ S. 864, a new law that would reduce the use of single-use plastic bags, paper bags and polystyrene foam containers, effective May 4, 2022.