Friends of the Lower Raritan Watershed –

Two weeks ago the NJ Senate passed (by a slim margin) a plastic bag bill (S2600/A3267) backed by industry advocates. That bill is sitting on Governor Murphy’s desk, and he is still considering what action to take on this single-use bag legislation.

This is an awful bill. It will do little to reduce plastic bag use, prohibit municipalities from passing stronger local plastics laws, and direct bag fee funds into the general treasury rather than to pollution reduction.

The Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions (ANJEC) has created the resolution below for municipalities to offer support for a stronger bill.

The LRWP encourages municipal officials, Green Teams and environmental commissions to customize this resolution and email or snail-mail a signed version to the Governor’s office

E-mail: constituent.relations@nj.gov

Snail mail: Office of the Governor, PO Box 001, Trenton, NJ 08625

PLEDGE of Municipal Support for New Jersey’s Comprehensive Bag Policy

WHEREAS, on average, one person uses 500 single-use disposable bags per year, 4 billion single use shopping bags are used annually in New Jersey and 102 billion are used nationwide; and,

WHEREAS, windblown plastic bags degrade our land and waterways, and 80% of the plastic and trash that finds its way into our oceans comes from the land; and,

WHEREAS, 12 million barrels of oil are used annually to make the plastic bags that Americans use; and,

WHEREAS, according to EPA, seabirds, fish, and other marine and land-based animals mistake plastic for food, while others can become entangled in the trash, leading to exhaustion, starvation, and eventual death; and,

WHEREAS, plastic breaks down into microplastics that measure 5 millimeters or less, which are ingested by shrimp, plankton, fish, birds, turtles, and other sea animals.  Microplastics absorb toxic chemicals, harms marine life, and can be consumed by humans via seafood and potable water; and,

WHEREAS, it is beyond dispute that the use of single-use, plastic carryout bags has a severe and negative environmental impact on the local and global environment as a result of the greenhouse gas emissions emitted to produce such bags, the land-based and ocean-based pollution created, the hazards posed to wildlife, the hazards posed to sources of water for humans, and the negative impact on the ecosystem and food chain as a whole; and,

WHEREAS, very few single-use carryout bags are actually recycled (it is estimated that less than 5% of all plastic bags are actually recycled and some estimates are as low as 1%); and,

WHEREAS, the _____________taxpayers currently bear the costs associated with the negative effects of plastic, single-use carryout bags on the solid waste stream, drainage, litter, and the negative consequences of the foregoing environmental impacts; and,

THEREFORE, the town of____________, resolve to support Governor Murphy’s ban on all thin, film plastic bags with a fee on reusable and recycled paper bags.

Agenda and date voted : xx/xx/2018 CERTIFICATION

I hereby certify this is true _______________________________