New Jersey plastic bag ban caused 300% increase in plastic use, 500% increase in pollution, study shows



A market research company found that after New Jersey banned single-use plastic bags, the amount of plastic used in the state for bags went up significantly, as did the amount of pollution created in production. Only the retailer benefited from the increased sales of the alternative bags.

After New Jersey banned single-use plastic bags — that were often used in retail and grocery stores — total bag volumes declined by more than 60%. The 2022 ban pushed the state's number of the bags down to 894 million from around 1.5 billion. While the reduction in single-use bags was evident, it generated different problems, including the very same environmental issues such bans are typically meant to mitigate.

Not only did the ban cause an abrupt increase in theft of shopping baskets, but it also caused a nearly threefold increase in plastic consumption.

Market research group Freedonia conducted a study that analyzed the impact of the ban on retail practices, consumer behavior, and environmental aftermath. The study found that the alternative bags that have been used to replace the single-use bags consumed more plastic and created more emissions.

Six times more woven and non-woven polypropylene plastic was consumed to produce reusable bags that were sold as environmentally friendly alternatives. According to the study, non-woven polypropylene bags are not widely recycled in the United States, nor do they consist of any recycled materials.

While the environmental impact of the shift in materials was measured rather generically in terms of "greenhouse gas emissions," the emissions increased by 500% when compared to that of plastic bag production in 2015. The alternative non-woven polypropylene bag material consumes over 15 times more plastic in production and generates five times more emissions per bag.

At the same time, the shift toward delivery and pickup for groceries after COVID-19 restrictions increased the production of the alternative bags.

The shift to these alternatives has seemingly only benefitted retailers. The study claimed that grocery retailers in New Jersey can profit up to $200,000 per location off non-woven polypropylene bags, or $42 million across the state.

The research also noted that the alternative bags are reused only two to three times before being discarded, falling short of the frequency of usage that would justify the switch from the traditional single-use plastics.

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These are, by far, the DUMBEST new laws in 2024



Your loving government overlords want to wish you a happy New Year, but not with confetti or champagne.

Rather, they ring in the new year with a fresh batch of terrible new laws.

To kick off the celebration, Governor Gavin Newsom has just signed a bill into law that will require fast food chains that operate in California to pay their employees a minimum of $20 per hour.

“Why not make it $100 an hour?” Glenn Beck scoffs, noting that the law doesn’t seem to recognize how business actually works — that businesses will have to lay off employees when they can’t afford their labor.

“You can’t just print money like the United States of America,” he adds.

But the festivities in California are just ramping up. The state is also initiating a new law that any business that sells toys can be fined if they aren’t selling gender-neutral toys.

The toys have to be clearly marked and sectioned, and stores that refuse to comply will face a $250 penalty for the first violation and a $500 penalty for every subsequent offense.

Glenn believes there’s one clear reason for this new law.

“To make a statement: this store will comply,” he explains.

Illinois might take the cake with some of the worst new laws of 2024: allowing non-citizens to become police officers and sheriffs and requiring landlords under state law to rent or sell property to noncitizens and illegal aliens.

The state is also shutting off state funding for public and school libraries that ban books for political reasons, including books that promote LGBTQ+ ideology.

“I’m noticing a trend here, on some of these laws,” Glenn says.


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New Jersey banned supermarkets from providing plastic and paper bags — now people are apparently taking shopping baskets from stores



New Jersey's ban blocking various stores from providing customers with plastic bags is apparently causing a problem as some grocery stores experience the theft of plastic shopping baskets.

"They are just disappearing," noted Louis Scaduto Jr. of Food Circus Super Markets, which owns several Super Foodtown stores in Monmouth County, according to Asbury Park Press. "I may actually have to just do away with them soon, can't afford to keep replacing them," he communicated via text message, according to the outlet. Scaduto's LinkedIn profile indicates that he is the "President / CEO / Co Owner of Food Circus Supermarkets, Inc."

Asbury Park Press reported that Stop & Shop noted in a statement, "Like other retailers across the state, we have experienced theft of our handheld shopping baskets — an unintended consequence of the ban on plastic and paper bags."

The ban took effect earlier this year on May 4, according to business.nj.gov. "New Jersey retail stores, grocery stores and food service businesses may not provide or sell single-use plastic carryout bags and polystyrene foam food service products," the website states.

The state not only banned grocery stores from providing customers with plastic bags, it also banned large supermarkets from offering paper bags. "Single-use paper carryout bags are allowed to be provided or sold, except by grocery stores equal to or larger than 2,500 square feet, which may only provide or sell reusable carryout bags," the New Jersey website notes.

"We are aware of random reports that grocers are experiencing the loss of these hand baskets to varying degree," president and CEO of the New Jersey Food Council Linda Doherty noted in a statement, according to the outlet. "We view this as a short unintended consequence of the new state law."

"Some stores are also posting signs to remind customers to keep handbaskets in the store and using in store public address systems with similar messaging," Doherty noted. "We think in most cases people simply forgot to bring them back."