Plastic bags have long been a staple in these NJ businesses where sustainability is their norm.
Deanna Taylor-Heacock watches them as they walk about 8 miles between their Maplewood and Montclair stores.
plastic bag.
Road garbage. Jumping on trees Trapped among the bushes.
“I don’t have a plastic bag mentality,” said Taylor-Heacock, owner of Good Bottle Refill Shop.
“I recently drove by Eagle Rock Reservation (in Essex County) and I’m not making it, there were 12 bags I counted that were in trees and bushes. Like it’s a problem, it’s a big problem is,” she said.
When New Jersey’s strict single-use plastic bag ban expires on May 4, grocery stores — 2,500 square feet or larger — will no longer be able to store or sell single-use plastic or paper bags. Most grocery stores are between 12,000 and 40,000 square feet.
Smaller stores such as boutiques, bodegas and convenience stores may still offer paper bags, but the state is encouraging all businesses to consider reusable and recyclable options. Restaurants, some of which said they would face an uphill battle to transition to a plastic bag law, can provide paper bags but cannot sell or use Styrofoam.
Some kirana stores and supermarket chains in the state are grooming customers by posting on social media, putting up sign boards in parking lots and providing friendly reminders at registers. Some, like Good Bottle refills, don’t need to be done.
“We never offered plastic bags, so zero change for us,” Taylor-Haycock said.
Similarly, Zero to 180 Market in Morristown, Greener-Kinder-Smarter, The No Waste Store in Lawrence Township, and MOM’s Organic Market in Paramus and Cherry Hill are all too easing for new bag ban rules based on their history of being eco-friendly. infection will occur. bagging
Owner Sabrina Ahmed said corn compostable bags, recyclable brown paper bags and her own bags from home have served customers at Zero to 180 Market in Morristown for at least two years.
“We also have a container recycling program so people can donate their clean glass jars and clean them, and put them on the shelf. Those who do not have containers on arrival can pick up one of them for free and use that as their container,” said Ahmed.
Zero to 180 Market – which encourages a “package-free shopping spree” – opened as a pop-up store in Morristown in December 2020. Ahmed said customers responded well to the business model coming with their own containers or reusable bags to stock up on pantry items like rice, pasta, eggs, cheese, spices, oils, syrups and other products .
The goal is to “reduce packaging and consumption waste,” Ahmed said.
Instead of customers buying packaged goods, which means using more paper or plastic, customers simply walk out of the store with the products in their own containers or bags. Zero To 180 Market also offers refill capability on essentials like shampoos, conditioners and dental products. Again, boxes, bags, or plastic tubes are not required, they usually come.
Ahmed’s store is currently on hiatus as she plans the fall opening of a Chelsea Market-style locale that will combine several businesses into one “sustainable store.”
Taylor-Heacock, who opened the first of two Good Bottle refill shops in 2018, is also a fan of cutting out the middleman of packaging.
“We’re the first refill shop in the entire state … and I opened it myself after discovering the zero-waste lifestyle,” Taylor-Haycock said.
Customers bring their own containers to refill stores, which tend to be smaller independent stores, to load up on household products like body wash, hand soap as well as laundry detergent. While the Good Refill Bottle Shop has paper bags on hand, Taylor-Heacock said customers usually have their own bags or purchases on hand.
“Our most popular (reusable) bags we sell are our classic string bags…we use them when we plan to shop at the farmers market for people, or if they are buying bulk. even sell bags for a ton of produce,” she said. , “We also sell dry goods in bulk so people can buy our bags and fill them with pasta or beans.”
Taylor-Haycock notes that access to sturdy reusable bags and durable products can sometimes be too low for affordability. Therefore, it will be important for stores of all sizes to help people make the transition to eco-friendly alternatives and provide education resources on why it is important to do so, he said.
“But we have to start somewhere,” she said.
Good Bottle Refills in Montclair on April 12, 2022. Beginning May 4, 2022, grocery stores, food service businesses and other retail stores in New Jersey are prohibited from providing or selling single-use plastic carryout bags. Karucha L. meuse | for nj advance
ALDI Center Valley vice president Bob Grammer said in a statement that grocery store chain ALDI, which has more than 50 locations throughout New Jersey, has never offered single-use plastic bags at registers.
“(That) has put more than 15 billion bags out of landfills and oceans,” he said. “We are now preparing to prohibit the sale of paper and multi-use plastic bags at registers in our New Jersey stores in accordance with state law and expect to complete the process by the end of April. We will continue to encourage our shoppers to bring their own bags or purchase one of our eco-friendly reusable bags. ,
A spokesperson for Lidl, which began opening supermarkets in the Garden State in 2017, said the company has always encouraged customers to use recyclable bags and offers them re-usable “green” produce bags. Is. The plastic bags, which stores have been selling for years, will no longer be available as of early May.
“In 2005, we actually eliminated plastic bags … you hear about other grocery stores doing it this year or last year, so it’s very progressive,” said chief of MOM’s Organic Market said Brand Officer Christine Coetz, which opened its second new Jersey location in Paramus in February.
“In 2008, we also introduced a 10-cent bag credit for customers who use reusable bags,” she said.
Signage will be mounted on MOM’s organic market registers to remind customers of New Jersey’s single-use plastic bag ban.
“And that’s it,” Koetz said. He added that many customers of MOM’s organic market are already environmentally conscious and know the ban is taking place – evidence that they often store recycling for shoes, batteries, corks, denim, glasses and degraded compost. Take advantage of the box.
Anyone not used to a sustainable lifestyle should remember that small habits can go a long way, said Randy Cimino, owner of The No Waste store, a greener-kinder-smarter, based out of Trenton Farmers Market. .
“Do a little bit at a time, or it can get overwhelming,” Cimino said.
Cimino’s store – which is plastic-free and sells products such as bulk baking goods, dried fruits and personal care items – strives to help people reduce their waste generation. She has done the same thing in her life, she said, by storing reusable bags in the car, using a refill bottle instead of plastic, and buying in bulk to reduce the need for packaging.
“It’s a million little steps, you just have to incorporate them into your routine to get used to it. The more you do and the more you do it, the easier it becomes,” she said.
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For more information about the ban, visit nj.com/plasticbagban. Still have questions about New Jersey’s plastic bag ban? Ask them here.
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