Kudisch, B. (2019, August 26). The biggest shopping town in New Jersey just banned plastic bags.
Retrieved from https://www.nj.com/bergen/2019/08/the-biggest-shopping-town-in-new-
Jersey-just-banned-plastic-bags.html
One of the largest shopping towns in New Jersey is banning the distribution of single-use plastic bags in retail stores. Less than 1 percent of plastic bags are recycled each year. This town has four major malls and annual sales hit an average of $6 billion. Currently around 22 New Jersey municipalities have plastic bag regulations set. The ordinance will go into effect starting January 2020. The town also has more retail sales than any other zip code in the country.
This article explores another U.S. town making the switch from single-use plastic bags to reusable or paper bags. I love what this town is doing as it significantly reduces plastic waste in the environment. The light and flimsy plastic bags that stores used to use would be easily blown by the wind and they would end up in the ocean where UV rays can easily degrade them quickly into microplastics that we cannot remove from the water. The fact that this is such a big zip code in terms of retail is significant to the problem and sets a precedent for other municipalities to follow. It was shocking to learn that less than 1 percent of plastic bags are recycled and gave even more reason for the switch to occur. Living in a town that banned plastic bags years ago makes me happy and makes me feel that I am making somewhat of a difference by not using plastic bags.
It is great to see that a community is making an effort to try and help climate change. Especially one that has such a large impact.
I think this is definitely a step in the right direction. What more do you think towns like this could do on a local level to help with environmental issues?
I think that banning plastic bags is a great movement for our environment. It’s helping with pollution and saving marine life, which is a very important aspect of maintaining a stable ecosystem
I think this is very important because it shows nationwide change to protect our world from garbage pollution. Many liberal counties have already banned plastic bags but it is good to see the entire state make a change.
By banning plastic bags for our environment it shows that we are definitely in the right direction. It’s saving marine life and helping out with the pollution. How else can we help out? Are there other ideas?
This is a great step in the right direction. This will also promote other businesses and shopping malls to follow in their footsteps.