Glen Rock Bans Single-Use Plastic Bags From Stores

GLEN ROCK, NJ — The borough became the latest New Jersey municipality to ban single-use plastic bags in stores and restaurants.

The Borough Council approved the ban this week. It goes into effect Jan. 1, 2020.

An ordinance outlining the ban covers single-use bags used to package or wrap fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, candies, frozen foods, meat, fish, small hardware items, prepared food, bakery goods, or prescription medicine.

It also bans newspaper, laundry, dry-cleaning bags, yard waste bags, and pet waste bags.

Retailers must make reusable and recyclable paper bags available to customers, for at least a $.10-cent fee. Small recyclable paper bags without handles measuring 8 by 16 inches or less are exempt from fees.

Businesses in violation of the ordinance will receive a written warning from the borough. Subsequent violations carry financial fines of $50, $100, and $200.

The Glen Rock Green Team spent months researching and lobbying for the change, "which the council ultimately recognized and supported," said Council President Kristine Morieko.

In a recent study, Rutgers researchers found high levels of tiny pieces of plastic — often fragments of bigger items — in the Raritan and Passaic rivers. They identified more than 300 organic chemical compounds that appeared to be associated with microplastics in the rivers.

New Jersey lawmakers approved legislation in 2018 that would impose a 5-cent fee for single-use paper and plastic bags being used by supermarkets and other retailers. The Senate and Assembly approved the legislation 41-32 and 23-16, but Gov. Phil Murphy vetoed it.

Longport Borough in Atlantic County was the first New Jersey town to impose a fee for plastic bags. Officials imposed the 10-cent fee in 2015 to encourage people to use reusable bags. Earlier this year, Long Beach Township and Point Pleasant Beach approved similar rules. Teaneck banned plastic bags in 2015.

Long Beach provided its residents and visitors with reusable bags. Point Pleasant officials said they enacted the change to "conserve resources, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reduce waste and litter and to protect the public health, welfare, and safety."

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com