New Jersey residents use three times more plastic after plastic ban
'26.01.2024'
Alina Prikhodko
Despite being adopted in 2022 prohibition law plastic bags, plastic consumption in New Jersey has tripled, reports Yahoo News.
The plastic bag ban was supposed to solve “the problem of plastic pollution.” A state law banning single-use plastic bags has led to a 60% decline in total volume, according to an analysis by the Freedonia Report, the business research arm of MarketResearch.com.
However, when consumers began looking for alternatives and purchasing plastic reusable bags, plastic consumption in the state tripled, largely due to the material of the alternative bags.
“Most of these bags are made from non-woven polypropylene, which is not widely recycled in the United States and generally contains no post-consumer recycled content,” the Freedonia Report states.
Do plastic bans help?
The ban, which took effect in May 2022, prevents large retailers, grocery stores and food service outlets from distributing plastic bags.
Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, signing the bill, said the measure would address “the most problematic forms of waste” in New Jersey and “help mitigate the effects of climate change and strengthen our environment for future generations.”
On the subject: How a huge landfill in New York was turned into a park
The ban also affected retail, with some cases reporting increased sales due to the need to use alternative packages.
“An in-depth cost analysis of New Jersey grocery retailers found that a typical store could generate $200 in profit per store by selling alternative packages,” the study said. “For one large retailer, that represents approximately $000 million in profit on all of its sales in New Jersey.”
According to the National Association of State Legislatures, banning single-use plastics is a way to limit the pollution and emissions associated with the production of this material. However, searching for alternatives to transport groceries and other goods from the store results in purchasing products that add to the environmental pollution caused by the production of bags.
