New Jersey Environmental Groups Call for Passage of State Plastics Reduction Bill
Urgent Need for Bill’s Passage to Save Tax Dollars,
Protect Public Health and New Jersey’s Environment
For Immediate Release: February 10, 2025
Contacts:
Judith Enck, Beyond Plastics — judithenck@bennington.edu, (518) 605-1770
Doug O’Malley, Environment New Jersey — domalley@environmentnewjersey.org, (917)-449-6812
Brooke Helmick, New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance — brooke@njeja.org, (909) 919-4318
TRENTON, New Jersey — Leading environmental groups held a news conference at the New Jersey State Capital in Trenton, New Jersey, urging the state legislature to pass the Packaging Product Stewardship Act (S3398/ A5009), introduced by Senator Bob Smith and Assemblywoman Alixon Collazos-Gill. The news conference immediately followed a New Jersey Senate Environment and Energy Committee meeting.
Speakers included Beyond Plastics founder and former EPA regional administrator Judith Enck, Environment New Jersey director Doug O’Malley, Clean Ocean Action executive director Cindy Zipf, Beyond Plastics advisory board member Brian Thompson, New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance policy director Brooke Helmick, Clean Water Action New Jersey state director Amy Goldsmith, Beyond Plastics NJ Youth lead and Sierra Club New Jersey Youth Committee Communications and Outreach Coordinator Shirin Sood.
Watch the Facebook Livestream here.
New Jersey has a growing plastic pollution crisis — 82% of items collected on local beaches were plastic in Clean Ocean Action’s 2022 annual report — and residents are paying with their health (in addition to their taxes). As plastic polluters increase plastic production, pollution will only grow while environmental justice communities around New Jersey’s landfills and incinerators suffer.
The Packaging Product Stewardship Act will require:
Companies selling products in New Jersey to cut plastic packaging by 50% over the next 10 years;
Prohibit some of the worst toxic chemicals known to science to be used in packaging, including PFAS, lead, mercury, vinyl chloride, and formaldehyde;
Provide new revenue to local governments to improve local recycling and waste reduction programs; and
Prohibit the plastics industry’s latest false solution, known as chemical recycling, from counting as real recycling.
“The issues plaguing EJ communities — toxic air quality, disproportionate health impacts, siting of industry in EJ communities, and the dumping of plastic waste, among others - are all connected back to a root cause: an overproduction of plastic materials and waste. A product stewardship bill can decrease unnecessary plastic packaging which can reduce plastic pollution as well as the associated air emissions and energy consumption. These outcomes decrease the disproportionate burden of waste and air pollution that EJ communities experience,” said Brooke Helmick, director of policy at New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance.
“Tax relief, tax relief, tax relief, that’s what this promises — if you reduce the trash then you reduce the ‘tipping fees’ your town pays to get rid of it. And that reduces your tax burden so what’s not to like?” said Brian Thompson, retired NBC New York journalist, Monmouth Beach Environmental Commission member, and Beyond Plastics advisory board member.
"During Black History Month, it needs to be highlighted that environmental justice communities are exposed to a disproportionate amount of pollution. That said, everyone is affected by the toxics of plastic. Most plastic is made from reconstructing fossil fuels — oil, natural gas, and coal — which causes it not to be biodegradable. Instead, plastic breaks down into tiny micro- and nanoparticles. There are over 16,000 different chemicals that make up plastic that can leach toxic chemicals into the foods we eat, beverages we consume, and air we breathe. Micro- and nanoplastic pollution has been found in the most remote places on Earth and throughout the human body. Toxics from plastic have been linked to metabolic disorders and endocrine disruption leading to cancers, diabetes, reduced fertility, impaired brain development, birth defects, and mutations. The burden should be on the manufacturer to reduce our exposure to an unnecessary amount of poisons,” said Marta Young, New Jersey zero-waste specialist at Clean Water Action.
"We can't recycle our way out of the plastics crisis -- our waterways and our bodies are literally swimming in plastics. More than two and a half years after the ban of single-use plastic bags, the Senate Environment Committee's passage today of a program to reduce plastic packaging is the next critical step to stop this wave of plastics swamping our environment," said Doug O’Malley, director of Environment New Jersey. “Extended producer responsibility is a simple concept of requiring the companies that produce plastic waste to take responsibility for their products -- and reduce the amount of plastic packaging that ends up in our environment and our bodies. We want to thank Chairman Bob Smith for his leadership and we urge Senate President Scutari to move forward on this bill to reduce plastic waste."
"The Packaging Product Stewardship Act is a vital step toward reducing plastic waste and protecting public health. With a strong, comprehensive approach, this legislation holds companies accountable and tackles the growing plastic pollution crisis. No longer should taxpayers bear the burden of managing packaging waste — it's time for corporations to take responsibility. We urge its swift passage,” said Jennifer Coffey, executive director at Association of NJ Environmental Commissions.
“Recycling simply can’t keep up with the production of single-use plastic packaging. That is why we need to focus on measures to reduce plastic production at its source, limit the use of single-use plastic, and embrace reusable packaging solutions. The legislation asks manufacturers to pay and innovate to solve the enormous waste problems created by producing and selling their own products. This is a vital initiative because packaging forms a large category of waste material—28% in the United States, according to the Environmental Protection Agency,” said Taylor McFarland, conservation program manager for the NJ Sierra Club. “This legislation, at its strongest, is essential to mitigating New Jersey’s plastic waste problem, and we urge the New Jersey Legislature to support it.”
“Attention New Jerseyans! Senator Smith has moved forward a bill that is just what the doctor ordered to help address the serious plague of plastic pollution. This prescribed plan is a remedy that will significantly reduce plastic contamination of our drinking water, food, air, and ocean. COA urges the legislature to support this bill, S3398, and quickly. The sooner we implement this sensible plan the healthier we will become” said Cindy Zipf Clean, executive director at Clean Ocean Action.
“Plastic pollution is devastating our waterways, ecosystems, and communities. The Packaging Product Stewardship Act is a necessary step to shift responsibility back to the corporations fueling this crisis, rather than placing the burden on taxpayers and municipalities. This legislation will not only protect Barnegat Bay and other natural resources from further harm but will also create healthier, more sustainable communities throughout New Jersey” said Britta Forsberg, executive director at Save Barnegat Bay.
“Single-use plastics are harming our oceans, climate, and communities. Strong policies to reduce the production of plastic packaging and support the use of reusable packaging are key to addressing this growing problem,” said John Weber, senior field representative at Oceana. “Oceana applauds Senator Smith and the Senate Environment and Energy Committee for taking an important step to tackle plastic pollution. We look forward to ensuring the Packaging Product Stewardship Act moves through the Senate to address the plastic pollution crisis at the source.”
“The New Jersey state legislature can protect the environment and public health for years to come if it passes the Packaging Product Stewardship Act this session,” said Judith Enck, president of Beyond Plastics and former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 2, regional administrator. “New Jersey taxpayers shouldn’t be footing the bill for plastic pollution, and residents never signed up for the negative climate and health impacts that come with it. This bill would finally tackle what’s becoming a more urgent issue every day: the neverending plastic that builds up in our landfills, gets burned in incinerators, and pollutes our beaches, rivers, parks, and neighborhoods.”
###
