SENATE, No. 2515

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

219th LEGISLATURE

 

INTRODUCED JUNE 4, 2020

 

 

Sponsored by:

Senator   BOB SMITH

District 17 (Middlesex and Somerset)

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS

        Establishes recycled content requirements for plastic containers, glass containers, paper carryout bags, reusable carryout bags made of plastic film, and plastic trash bags; prohibits sale of polystyrene loose fill packaging.  

 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

        As introduced.

 

An Act concerning the sale of certain containers and packaging products in the State and supplementing Title 13 of the Revised Statutes.  

 

        Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

 

        1.       As used in sections 1 through 14 of this act:

           Beverage    means milk, alcoholic beverages, including beer or other malt beverages, liquor, wine, vermouth and sparkling wine, and nonalcoholic beverages, including fruit juice, mineral water and soda water and similar nonalcoholic carbonated and noncarbonated drinks intended for human consumption.  

           Department    means the Department of Environmental Protection.

           Food    means articles used for food or drink for humans and articles used for components of any such article.

           Manufacturer    means a person that:   (1) produces or generates a rigid plastic container, plastic beverage container, glass container, paper carryout bag, reusable carryout bag made of plastic film, or plastic trash bag that is sold or offered for sale in the State; or (2) produces or generates a product that is sold or offered for sale in the State and packaged in a rigid plastic container, plastic beverage container, or glass container.  

           Package    means a container used to protect, store, contain, transport, display, or sell a product.  

           Paper carryout bag    means a bag made of paper that is sold or provided by a store or other retail establishment to a customer for the purpose of wrapping, containing, or carrying out food, beverages, or other retail goods.  

           Person    means an individual, corporation, company, association, society, firm, partnership, or joint stock company.

           Plastic    means a synthetic material made from linking monomers through a chemical reaction to create an organic polymer chain that can be molded or extruded at high heat into various solid forms, which retain their defined shapes during their life cycle and after disposal.

           Plastic beverage container    means an individual bottle or can composed primarily of plastic that is hermetically sealed or made airtight with a metal or plastic cap, and that contains a beverage.  

           Plastic film    means any thin, nonwoven, flexible plastic.  

           Plastic trash bag    means a bag that is made of plastic, is at least 0.70 mils thick, and is designed and manufactured for use as a container to hold, store, or transport materials to be discarded, composted, or recycled, and includes, but is not limited to, a garbage bag, composting bag, lawn or leaf bag, can-liner bag, kitchen bag, compactor bag, or recycling bag.  

           Recycled content    means the portion of a package   s total weight that is composed of recycled material, as determined by a material balance approach that calculates total recycled material in the package as a percentage of the total weight of the package.

           Recycled material    means a material or product that has completed its intended end use and product life cycle, and which has been separated from the solid waste stream for the purposes of collection and recycling; except that    recycled material    shall not include secondary waste material or materials and by-products generated from, and commonly used within, an original manufacturing and fabrication process.

           Reusable carryout bag    means a bag that is sold or provided by a store to a customer for the purpose of transporting groceries, prepared foods, or retail goods, and that is designed and manufactured for multiple reuse.  

           Rigid plastic container    means a package composed primarily of plastic that has a relatively inflexible finite shape or form, has a capacity of between eight ounces and five gallons, and is capable of maintaining its shape while empty or while holding other products.

 

        2.       a.   Except as provided in subsection c. of this section, beginning January 1, 2022, each rigid plastic container sold, offered for sale, or used in association with the sale or offer for sale of a product in the State by a manufacturer shall:  

        (1)     contain at least 35 percent recycled content; or

        (2)     be made of a plastic that is being recycled in the State at a rate of 35 percent.  

        b.       A rigid plastic container shall be deemed to meet the requirements of paragraph (2) of subsection a. of this section if:

        (1)     rigid plastic containers, in the aggregate, are being recycled in the State at a rate of 35 percent;

        (2)     the rigid plastic container is a specific resin type of rigid plastic container and that resin type of rigid plastic container is being recycled in the State at a rate of 35 percent; or

        (3)     the rigid plastic container is a particular product-associated package and that type of product-associated package is being recycled in the State at a rate of 35 percent.

        c.         A rigid plastic container shall be exempt from the requirements of subsection a. of this section if it:  

        (1) is a plastic beverage container, to which the requirements of section 3 of this act apply;

        (2)     contains drugs, medical devices, medical food, or infant formula as defined in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, 21 U.S.C. s.301 et seq.;  

        (3)     contains toxic or hazardous products regulated by the    Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act,    7 U.S.C. s.136 et seq.;

        (4)     is associated with a product produced in or brought into the State that is destined for shipment to other destinations outside the State and that remains with the product upon shipment;

        (5)     is necessary to provide tamper-resistant seals for public health purposes;

        (6)     is a source reduced package.   A rigid plastic container shall qualify as a source reduced package if the percentage of package weight per unit of product has been reduced by at least 10 percent when compared with the packaging used for the same product by the same manufacturer five years earlier.   In no case may packaging reduction be achieved, for purposes of this paragraph, by substituting a different material category for a material that constituted a substantial part of the packaging in question, or by packaging changes that adversely impact either the potential for the package to be recycled or contain recycled material.   Exemptions under this paragraph shall be limited to five years, shall not be renewable, and shall not be applicable to packages for which the percentage of package weight per unit of product increased after Jan