New Jersey plastic bag ban backfires as reusable bags pile up

New Jersey’s ban on single-use grocery bags has wreaked havoc in the state as reports of unintended consequences pile up.

The legislation, which went into effect May 4, is unique in that it bans paper bags along with plastic ones for all stores exceeding 2,500 square feet.

But cautious grocery delivery services are packaging all online orders in a fresh set of reusable bags. Some have been providing them at no additional cost while others are charging for them.

“The only glitch so far that we’ve had [during the ban] is the fact that the home delivery of groceries has been interpreted to mean you have to do it in a reusable bag and what’s happening is the number of these bags are accumulating with customers,” state senator Bob Smith, a Democrat who co-sponsored the ban, told NJ Advance Media.

“We know it’s a problem. We agree it’s a problem.”

Katiuska Tejada-Rivera, a 54-year-old New Jersey mother who supports the bag ban, says she has “definitely” accumulated at least 100 reusable bags since the ban went into effect.

“I keep them in the basement,” said Tejada-Rivera.

“I have another bag by the door in case I go out to the farmer’s market. Most of them are brand new, even have the tag on them. I use them one time but don’t throw them out.”

Another woman interviewed by the New York Times said she is considering sewing her 101 reusable bags into curtains.

The Takeout covered other ways residents have coped with the ban, like how some customers have been stealing shopping baskets instead of buying reusable bags. In response, some grocers have considered getting rid of baskets altogether.

Smith, who is also chairman of the state Senate Environmental Committee, said a new bill will likely be introduced that allows grocery deliveries to use paper bags or cardboard boxes.

“Help is on the way, because we don’t want to see these reusable bags building up in customers’ homes,” Smith said.