Form Letter to Mayors
May 29, 2019
Dear Mayor
On behalf of the New Jersey Food Council (NJFC), a trade association representing the food retail and distribution industry in New Jersey, we appreciate the opportunity to convey our support for a uniform statewide solution to phase out single use disposable plastic and paper bags and encourage the use of reusable bags in New Jersey.
NJFC and our members recognize the importance of promoting sustainability, and for this reason I serve as the Vice Chair of the Board of the NJ Clean Communities Council. Our membership is committed to supporting sound environmental policy, and this is why our members have taken a progressive approach to this disposable bag issue.
Various municipalities throughout New Jersey have enacted competing disposable bag bans and fees with different requirements, definitions, and effective dates. This has created an onerous and unworkable patchwork of local ordinances for retailers who have established businesses in your community and throughout the state. It also causes confusion amongst customers who shop retailers in different towns.
Further, many of these ordinances have been solely focused on disposable plastic bags, but disposable paper bags have a significant environmental impact and are substantially more expensive than plastic. The carbon footprint of paper is arguably more detrimental to the environment than plastic. Paper bags also require ten times the amount of trucks to deliver the same quantity of bags, resulting in increased truck traffic and diesel emissions. Our food retail members in municipalities which have banned disposable plastic bags without addressing disposable paper bags are faced with much higher costs since they have had to purchase additional paper bags. As you may know, food retailers operate on profit margins of approximately one penny on the dollar. Increased costs for paper means less funds available for jobs and investment in their stores and communities.
Additionally, the increased use of paper bags will ultimately end up in municipal recycling programs and in the solid waste stream, both of which are facing increased costs. This means municipalities have to pay more for recycling and waste removal services, which ultimately increases costs to the municipal taxpayers. Overall, focusing solely on disposable plastic bags results in higher costs for retailers, consumers, and municipalities.
NJFC has taken the very progressive step of supporting a statewide legislative initiative which would phase out the use of both plastic and paper disposable bags throughout New Jersey. This legislation would include food safety protections and would provide for a uniform statewide policy governing disposable bags. NJFC and members would be pleased to work with you and other local officials and sustainability organizations to educate consumers well in advance if legislation in Trenton is approved.Additionally, we are noticing some local ordinances include an outright ban on polystyrene. These types of restrictions can raise havoc in food service and beverage operations. Food retailers have high standards for quality, durability and safety of these containers. Testing alternatives with these standards take time and are costly. Replacement containers could become a safety risk if not tested and vetted properly. Besides being extremely costly, some compostable or biodegradable alternatives are flimsy and ineffective from a food safety standpoint. Nobody wants meat, fish or poultry juices dripping from their containers. Also, municipalities which ban these containers will become outliers because national companies, for example, Tyson or Perdue, will be unable to repackage their products for just one town when they are part of a national supply chain.
We request you and your local environmental teams work with NJFC and food retailers in your community to promote a statewide solution and avoid contributing to an overwhelming patchwork of ordinances that are costly and confusing.
If we can provide additional information about our position, please do not hesitate to contact us
at 609-392-8899 or via email at
Sincerely,
Linda Doherty
President & CEO
New Jersey Food Council