Why Are Plastic Bags So Bad For New Jersey's Environment That We Need A Ban?
By Amanda Oglesby | April 11, 2022 | Asbury Park Press
Joanne Mastropasqua has already made the transition to reusable shopping bags, even though a statewide ban on single-use plastic bags does not take effect until May 4.
The Brick resident said she made the switch because she is concerned about the environment, and she knows eliminating single-use plastic bags from her shopping trips is one way to make a difference.
"We're kind of crunchy people," Mastropasqua said of herself and her husband. "We don't run the water. We recycle every piece of everything."
She is already ahead of many other New Jersey shoppers, who have just weeks to get used to bringing their own reusable bags — or purchasing them — for most of their shopping runs.
Once the ban takes effect, most grocery stores will require shoppers to use or purchase reusable bags. Single-use plastic bags and paper shopping bags will be a memory in large, grocery retailers.
Smaller stores and restaurants are also banned from using single-use plastic bags, but will be allowed to use paper bags.
Mastropasqua said the habit of keeping her car stocked with reusable bags is now "second nature." New Jersey should have moved faster to join other states that have already banned single-use plastic bags, she said.
"You see plastic bags everywhere," said Mastropasqua. "They're in the trees… You see them on the side of the road… If you've ever gone by any of the dumps on Staten Island, they're just flying all over the place."
Environmentalists say banning such bags is a big step toward reducing the ever-growing problem of plastic pollution.
"There are literally millions of plastic bags littering America, and you can't pick them all up," said Judith Enck, president of Beyond Plastics, an environmental organization focused on reducing plastic use and plastic pollution. "Many of them get washed into storm drains and then get into the Atlantic Ocean… They don't degrade for centuries."