Ridgewood Could Ban Single-Use Plastic Bags

RIDGEWOOD, NJ — Single-use plastic bags could be banned from stores next year.

The Village Council is slated to introduce an ordinance Wednesday that would ban single-use, carry-out plastic bags at all restaurants and retailers beginning Jan. 1, 2020.

The proposed ordinance permits businesses to charge customers for a recyclable paper carry-out bag and to issue credit for reusable bags.

Businesses that provide single-use plastic bags would be fined by the village.

A six-month "education period" would precede the ban going into effect.

Nearby Glen Rock enacted a similar ban earlier this year that will go onto effect on the same day that Ridgewood's would.

Related: Glen Rock Bans Single-Use Plastic Bags From Stores

Glen Rock's ordinance 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.

Teaneck banned plastic bags in 2015.

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.

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.

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com