
Has New Jersey’s Plastic Bag Ban Actually Backfired?
A question for all New Jersey residents: How many reusable bags do you have piled up in your house right now?
If they're cluttering your pantries and closets, untouched, and ironically not reused, you're not alone. And according to a study, it's causing a bigger problem in New Jersey.

The plastic bag ban that went into effect in 2022 was enacted by with the best of intentions by Governor Phil Murphy and other New Jersey lawmakers. But according to a study by the Freedonia Group, 2 years in, the bag ban has backfired spectacularly.
It takes a LOT of plastic to make one reusable bag
According to the study, making just one of those reusable plastic bags takes about 15-20 times the amount of plastic used to make a single-use plastic bag. In order for the ban to improve the environment, one of those bags would have to be reused about 11-59 times.
Guess what? People aren't doing that. On average the reusable bags are only reused about 2-3 times.
Is MORE plastic is being used than before the bag ban?
The whole purpose of the ban was to reduce the amount of plastic, but the exact opposite might have happened.
Before the ban was enacted in 2022, 53 million pounds of plastic single-use bags were used in New Jersey. As of January 2024 when the study was released, that number skyrocketed to 151 million pounds!
But wait! Is it true?
Here's where we need to put our critical thinking hats on. It's important to note that the Freedonia Group study was paid for by the according to WHYY. They advocate against plastic bag bans across the country, so their findings could be biased and questionable.
Do you think New Jersey's bag ban should stay in place?
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