(DailyAnswer.org) – New Jersey’s strict ban on single-use plastic bags has backfired massively, resulting in almost three times the consumption of plastic in the state. New Jersey introduced the ban in 2022, preventing retailers from providing single-use bags, and according to a study published in January 2024 by MarketResearch.com’s research division Freedonia Custom Research (FCR), the people of New Jersey are consuming 151 million pounds following the ban compared to 53 million pounds of plastic before it was introduced. The findings have raised questions about how environmentally friendly the shift is from the film used to produce single-use bags to reusable bags made from woven and non-woven polypropylene plastic.
Upon signing the legislation in 2020, Democratic Governor Phil Murphy claimed that the measure would tackle the most problematic form of rubbish, protect the environment for future generations, and help fight climate change. The ban, the strictest of its kind at the time, also prohibited grocery stores bigger than 2,500 square feet from providing customers with paper bags. Though FCR’s study found that the change resulted in a 60% decrease in overall bag volume, customers predominately turned to plastic in the form of reusable bags instead. Reusable bags are produced using 15 to 20 times the amount of plastic that the prohibited single-use bags use, and according to research, these reusable bags need to be used between 11 and 59 times in order to provide a net benefit for the environment.
One mother from New Jersey said to NJ Advance Media in 2022 that she tended to use the new bags once and leave them in the basement, saying that they were not thrown away but were not used much either and, in some cases, were still brand new with tags still attached. Most of the reusable bags are produced using non-woven polypropylene, which is not recycled in much of the United States. As sales of reusable plastic bags total roughly $200,000—800,000 each year in New Jersey, according to the study, the fees charged for reusable bags now account for 1-2% of the total income of retailers in the state.
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