New Jersey’s ban on single-use plastic bags has been in effect since May 4, 2022. The law also restricted plastic straws and other products, including paper carryout bags and polystyrene food containers.  

“Before the single use plastics law was enacted, it was commonplace to see plastic bags blowing around parking lots, getting tangled in trees and littering our precious waterways,” said JoAnn Gemenden, executive director of the New Jersey Clean Communities Council. “This spring, as clean communities coordinators are sponsoring numerous litter clean-up initiatives across New Jersey, we are astounded by the stark decrease in the amount of single-use bags found. There is no doubt this law is working, and I must congratulate New Jersey’s businesses and consumers for making this success possible.” 

On Friday, the Department of Environmental Protection marked the law’s anniversary and highlighted some key metrics. Between May and December 2022, an estimated 5.5 billion single-use plastic bags were eliminated from entering the waste stream, according to the New Jersey Food Council. During the past year, convenience stores reduced their purchase of plastic straws for distribution to customers from 17 million to 2 million a month. And there has been a more than 37% decrease in single-use plastics — bags, straws and foam food containers — as litter along the Jersey Shore.