At long last, we have a plastic bag ban in New Jersey. As of last Wednesday, May 4, the Garden State is home to one of the strongest bans in the nation, an effort to address plastic pollution in the state. The ban prohibits the use of single use plastic and paper bags, as well as Styrofoam containers and cups. Additional items that are more specific and challenging for businesses to replace – like prepackaged food service products and trays for butchered meat – will be exempt for an additional two years, until they are also banned in May of 2024.This change was a long time coming. Immediately preceding the pandemic, multiple Livingston Township Council meetings featured discussions with a plastics committee, which included residents and local business owners, about how to implement these changes in town. In the time since those initial talks, just looking at what has happened in Livingston, we have seen severe weather events that are a direct result of climate change. That issue, of course, is the reason for this plastic bag ban in the first place – an attempt to stop greenhouse gasses from warming the planet by limiting the amount of plastic production, the majority of which is either never recycled or, ultimately, unrecyclable.It is for this reason that we are so pleased to see this ban go into effect. While it will force residents to make adjustments, we are confident in their ability to quickly adapt to the change. Many, we are sure, are already well-versed in limiting their plastic use, utilizing paper straws, canvas shopping bags, and more.Our township has done a great job of preparing residents for this change, getting the word out about this pending date weeks in advance, as have the affected businesses (and yes, we have at the Tribune, as well). But, undoubtedly, we are sure there will still be people shocked at the change when they look to bag their bread, milk, and eggs this week.We ask residents to be patient as everyone adjusts to this change. While some of us have been using canvas bags for months or years, for many, this is the very first time they are not walking out of the grocery store with a cart full of plastic bags.As we said, we know that it is an adjustment to change something that has been routine for so long, and there will ...
