A recent report from Freedonia Custom Research (FCR), a division of Marketresearch.com, has shed light on the effects of New Jersey’s single-use bag ban on consumer habits, retail operations, and the environment. Since the ban’s implementation in 2022, there has been a significant decrease in total bag usage, dropping by over 60% to 894 million bags. However, the transition from single-use plastic bags to alternative options has led to an unintended consequence: a substantial increase in plastic consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
The shift mainly involves moving from plastic film bags to alternatives like woven and non-woven polypropylene bags, which are not widely recycled in the U.S. and typically do not contain post-consumer recycled materials. This change has resulted in a nearly threefold rise in plastic usage for bags and a sixfold increase in the consumption of polypropylene for reusable bags. The environmental impact is also significant, with GHG emissions from the production of these alternative bags surging by 500% compared to figures from 2015. Notably, the production of non-woven polypropylene bags uses over 15 times more plastic and generates more than five times the GHG emissions per bag compared to traditional polyethylene plastic bags.
For New Jersey retailers, the bag ban has led to substantial adjustments in front-end business practices. The prohibition on offering free single-use plastic or paper bags has spurred retailers to sell alternative bags, a move that has proven to be highly profitable. An analysis reveals that a typical grocery store in New Jersey could earn $200,000 in profit per location from the sale of these bags, with one major retailer estimated to make $42 million in profit statewide. This profitability comes amidst a growing trend of consumers opting for grocery pickup and delivery services, necessitating the use of new alternative bags for each transaction and thus driving up sales.
However, the report highlights a critical issue with the current model of alternative bag usage. On average, these bags are reused only two to three times before being discarded, far below the reuse rates needed to offset the GHG emissions from their production and effectively combat climate change. This discrepancy raises questions about the long-term sustainability and effectiveness of the shift to alternative bags in reducing environmental impact.