Morristown Uses 6M Fewer Plastic Bags Per Year After NJ Ban: Advocates

MORRISTOWN, NJ — Morristown, like other towns in New Jersey, used to go through a lot of plastic bags. But according to a recent study, a state ban is keeping more than two million of them out of the trash every year in the township.

It’s been nearly two years since New Jersey banned stores and supermarkets from handing out single-use plastic bags to their customers, and the debate over the ban’s effectiveness continues to swirl.

Gov. Phil Murphy signed the ban into law in 2020. It became active in May 2022. Learn more about what is allowed – and what isn’t – on the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s website.

Supporters of the ban have said it is reducing pollution and litter, arguing that New Jersey isn’t the only state with a bag ban – and that the ban is working all across the nation, including in Morristown.

According to Environment America, a national network of 30 advocacy groups, New Jersey’s ban prevents 6,020,344 bags from entering the trash stream in Morristown every year. Those bags would stretch 1,045 miles if laid side by side, saving 30,343 gallons of oil used to produce them, the group says.

The statistics are based on Morristown's population of 20,339 residents.

Other environmental advocates have agreed that the bag ban is working in New Jersey.

“It is obvious that New Jersey’s well-designed single-use plastic bag ban has successfully reduced plastic bag use and associated litter and pollution,” said JoAnn Gemenden, executive director at the New Jersey Clean Communities Council.

“When I drive around or go shopping, it’s rare for me to see a single-use bag blowing in the wind or discarded in a shopping cart,” Gemenden said. “Because of this law, New Jersey has considerably less visible litter.”

Critics have countered that plastic bag bans are a burden on businesses and their customers – and they aren’t nearly as effective as their supporters claim.

A recent study said that since the state is now relying on heavier reusable bags — most of which are made of non-woven polypropylene — three times more plastic (by the pound) is being produced than before the ban. Researchers also said that greenhouse gas emissions from the production of those bags have skyrocketed by 500 percent compared to 2015 levels.

The study comes from Freedonia Custom Research — a market-research firm. Advocates have bashed the analysis, pointing out that it was paid for by a group that “represents the interests of U.S.-based manufacturers and recyclers of plastic bags.”

Patch's Eric Kiefer contributed to this report.

See Related: Is New Jersey's Plastic Bag Ban Working? Studies Give Mixed Reviews