Paper or plastic? NJ lawmakers approve 5-cent fee on both, angering environmentalists

Nicholas Pugliese | NorthJersey

Show Caption Hide Caption Pilot whale dies after swallowing 17 pounds of plastic Veterinarians say the sick pilot whale may have thought the plastic bags and other debris were food.

Single-use plastic and paper bags would be slapped with a 5-cent fee under a bill that was rushed through the Legislature this week amid frenzied negotiations over a roughly $37 billion state budget.

Sponsors say the measure is a step in the right direction after years of unsuccessful attempts to limit use of the bags, but many environmental groups are adamantly opposed because it would also prevent cities and towns from enacting tougher restrictions — such as outright bans — in the future.

“This legislation cuts the knees off of towns and cities that want to protect their communities,” said Doug O'Malley, director of Environment New Jersey. “Just as we’re generating momentum to eliminate plastic bags, the Legislature is going to stop that.”

The measure, A-3267/S-2600, was first considered by legislative committees on Tuesday and approved by the full Senate and Assembly on Thursday. The votes were 23-16 in the Senate and 41-32 in the Assembly.

It is now up to Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, whether to sign it into law. A spokesman for the governor declined to comment Wednesday.

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Several municipalities in New Jersey, including Teaneck and multiple shore communities, have banned or imposed a fee on plastic bags in recent months, and larger cities like Hoboken and Jersey City are poised to enact strict limits on when retailers can hand them out.

Those steps are part of a global movement — from California and Hawaii to China and India — to reduce litter and keep plastic from clogging oceans and waterways.

The New Jersey measure would impose a nickel fee on single-use plastic and paper bags at supermarkets, pharmacies, large retailers and chain restaurants, with an exemption for those using government assistance to pay for groceries.

Retailers would get to keep 1 cent and the rest of the fee would nominally go toward a special fund to remove lead plumbing fixtures and lead paint from schools, water fountains and residences. But lawmakers have already inserted language into their budget proposal that would allow the $23 million expected to be raised in the 2019 fiscal year to be diverted for general state spending.

The measure would take effect Oct. 1. Any municipal or county regulations in place before then would be grandfathered in, but local efforts to restrict bag use after then would be forbidden.

Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle, D-Englewood, a bill sponsor, defended the local preemption as a “fair way” to balance environmental concerns with the desire for businesses to have consistent regulations throughout the state. The measure is supported by the New Jersey Food Council, which represents food retailers and does not want "an unworkable patchwork of local ordinances."

“There needs to be a sense of uniformity,” Huttle said, adding: “We can always revisit a bill to see how we’re doing.”

Environmental groups are also suspicious of the motivation for the bill, which comes as lawmakers are trying to find adequate revenues to balance a state budget chock-full of new spending.

“This is just an excuse to grab $23 million a year in a regressive tax that hurts the environment,” Jeff Tittel of the New Jersey Sierra Club said in an interview Tuesday. “This is not about plastic bags or lead, it is a scam to grab money for the budget,” he added in a Wednesday statement.

Joining in opposition to the bill, although for different reasons, were lobbyists for plastic manufacturers, who have helped sink past attempts to curb the use of plastic bags in New Jersey.

“They say that as long as it’s disposed of properly, there’s no doubt that the traditional plastic bag is the best option at the checkout counter for the environment because your carbon footprint of them is small, the transportation, the resources that go into it — all of it adds up to say this is the right thing to do,” said Matt Seaholm, executive director of the American Progressive Bag Alliance. “Just don’t litter it.”

Lawmakers are also considering a ban on Styrofoam containers in public schools and institutions of higher education as part of a separate bill, S-1486/A-909. That measure, which does have the backing of environmental groups, has been approved by the Senate but has yet to be considered by the Assembly.

Email: pugliese@northjersey.com