Plastic Bag Ban

A law signed in March 2022 provides 500,000 free reusable bags to food banks across the Garden State.

Retailers are trying to get through their supply of single-use bags ahead of the state's ban.

"It's a general problem, not just a coastal problem," said Sylvia Kay, of Sierra Club New Jersey.

"The day that this goes into effect, and the day after, the sun is going to rise in the East and it's going to set in the West, and we're going to get through our day, albeit with a reusable bag," Paramus Mayor Rich LaBarbiera told New Jersey 101.5.

New Jersey is a little more than a month away from the start of a rule that will forever change the shopping habits of most New Jersey consumers.

The official plastic bag ban goes into affect in New Jersey on Friday, March 4th and there is more to it than just not using plastic bags. Here's what you need to know:

On May 4, you'll no longer be offered paper or plastic at most grocery stores and retail locations.

Why New Jersey's plastic bag ban is only a small step in solving a much bigger problem.

A bill endorsed by the Assembly environment committee would also redefine what qualifies as a reusable carryout bag, at the urging of a manufacturer.

First up in New Jersey is a ban on plastic straws that begins on Nov. 4.

Every year the non-profit organization Clean Ocean Action in Long Branch, NJ, conducts multiple "beach sweeps" up and down the Jersey coastline, to keep our Jersey Shore beaches clean. Of all the pieces of garbage collected each time, plastic is among the top offenders, including plastic bags.