Governor Phil Murphy signed a ban on plastic bags, single-use paper bags, disposable food containers, and polystyrene cups in stores/restaurants last year. The ban is set to be enacted in May 2022. According to New Jersey’s official website Governor Phil Murphy says, “Plastic bags are one of the most problematic forms of garbage, leading to millions of discarded bags that stream annually into our landfills, rivers, and oceans.” Plastic straws aren’t completely banned and customers may request them as opposed to the more environmentally friendly alternatives for straws such as metal or paper. Additionally according to New Jersey’s official website, under the ban, “Disposable, long-handled polystyrene foam soda spoons when required and used for thick drinks; Portion cups of two ounces or less, if used for hot foods or foods requiring lids; Meat and fish trays for raw or butchered meat, including poultry, or fish that is sold from a refrigerator or similar retail appliance; Any food product pre-packaged by the manufacturer with a polystyrene foam foodservice product; and Any other polystyrene foam foodservice product as determined necessary by Department of Environmental Protection.”

This law is extremely necessary because according to North Jersey.com Violators of the law can face hefty fines. For the first offense, they get off with a warning, by the second offense they must pay a $1000 fine, and if the offender violates the ban a third time they must pay $5000. Although it is said to be “the strictest stance against single-use plastics in the nation” there are some exceptions for businesses that “can’t find alternatives to polystyrene foam or making less than $500,000 a year in income” according to NJ.com. The Plastic Advisory council will be overseeing the progress of the ban as an organization under the Department of Environmental Protection. Murphy admits that he actually vetoed the bill a couple of years ago out of lack of strength, however, environmentalists now thank him saying, “This is an environmental victory that’s been years in the making” according to NJ. com. According to North Jersey.com “More than 80% of litter picked up at annual beach cleanups from Cape May to Sandy Hook by volunteers for Clean Ocean Action has been plastic in recent years…there were almost 166 million pieces of microscopic plastic floating in the waterways of New Jersey and New York.”