A new poll of 700 registered NJ voters statewide shows that 56% of them disapprove of a proposed tax/penalty designed to discourage the use of plastic bags, with 39% approving.
The Reduce Plastic and Paper Bag Usage Act passed in committee back in December, and will now proceed to the Senate for a vote. It will eventually need approval from both houses of the NJ legislature before going before Governor Christie.
The law would have retailers charge an extra nickle for a plastic bag beginning in 2014. The retailer would keep a penny, and 4 cents would go towards cleaning up Barnegat Bay.
According to the Fairleigh Dickinson University poll, most New Jersey residents have not heard about the proposed law – 53% saying they have heard nothing, and another 22% saying they have heard very little.
There have been various efforts by towns and cities across America, and the globe, to reduce the use of plastic bags, some well received and other not. The idea of imposing a tax/penalty has been imposed in some instances, but often local municipalities impose a sweeping ban.
ThePlasticBagBanReport.com, operated by a Georgia businessman, offers reports on both sides of the aisle by reporting on instances where it is considered, accepted, rejected — and sometimes all three in one city like Toronto which repealed a law similar to the one proposed in NJ.
I am against a 5 cent charge for the plastic bags. I think the 5 cent back incentive which many stores have in place already with the canvas bags have convinced many people to switch, including my family. However, we still use plastic bags on occasion and they are great for many other purposes, besides bringing groceries home from the store.
Also, like any other fee, how can you ensure that the 4 cents the state government takes will actually go to restoring the bay? It may at first, but it would probably take just a few years for the “plastic bag fund” to be raided to pay for some other underfunded program.
A solution I haven’t heard is to see if biodegradable plastic bags could be made. I know Sun Chips changed the materials used to make their bag so that after a year or so, the bag starts to decompose at a rate faster than if the bag was sitting in a dump or lying at the side of the road.
Why is it only Barnegat Bay? Raritan Bay isn’t exactly a swimmer’s paradise either.