[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council
of the Borough of Highland Park 2-5-2019 by Ord. No. 19-1980. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
The Mayor and Council find and declare that:
A.
On average, one person uses 500 single-use disposable bags per year,
four billion single-use shopping bags are used annually in New Jersey,
and 102 billion are used nationwide; and
B.
One bag is used on average for 20 minutes before it is disposed of;
and
C.
It takes about 1,000 years for a plastic bag to decompose; and
D.
Only about 1% of plastic bags are recycled; and
E.
Eighty percent of the plastic and trash that finds its way into our
oceans comes from the land; and
F.
Twelve million barrels of oil are used annually to make the plastic
bags that Americans use, emitting 4.8 million metric tons of CO2 into our atmosphere and contributing to global warming
and climate change; and
G.
The Borough has always been an environmental leader in the State
of New Jersey; and
H.
The Borough desires to reduce the use of single-use plastic bags
by all residents and merchants; and
I.
Sustainable Highland Park received a $10,000 grant to lead a reusable
bag education program from 2017 to 2018, with the specific goal of
reducing single-use plastic bags in the Borough; and
J.
Sustainable Highland Park has educated residents and merchants about
the importance of reducing the use of single-use plastic bags throughout
the year through intensive outreach to all sectors of our Borough
and distributing 2,000 reusable bags to Borough residents; and
K.
Through educational outreach and surveys by Sustainable Highland
Park, Borough residents have indicated their desire to reduce the
use of single-use plastic bags and thus join in the movement to act
in ways that demonstrate environmental, health, and economic responsibility
to our planet and to our local and regional populations; and
L.
Regulating the use of plastic bags will preserve the public health,
safety, and welfare of the municipality.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Any person purchasing goods or services from a retail establishment.
The person in control of, or having the responsibility for,
the operation of a retail establishment, which may include, but is
not limited to, the owner of the retail establishment.
Any bag made predominantly of plastic derived from either petroleum
or a biologically based source, such as corn or other plant sources,
that is provided by an operator of a retail establishment to a customer
at the point of sale.
This definition specifically exempts the following from the
category of plastic carry-out bags:
Bags provided by operators and used by consumers inside retail
establishments to:
Contain or wrap frozen foods, meat, or fish, whether packaged
or not;
Contain or wrap flowers, potted plants, or other items where
dampness may be an issue;
Contain unwrapped prepared foods or bakery goods;
Contain unpackaged bulk produce such as fruit, vegetables, herbs
or flavors; or
Contain refrigerated butchered meat and fish.
Newspaper bags, door-hanger bags, laundry and/or dry-cleaning
bags, or bags sold in packages containing multiple bags intended for
use as food storage bags, garbage bags, yard waste bags, or pet waste
bags.
Gift bags that are provided as part of the retail sale.
Any store or commercial establishment that sells perishable
or nonperishable goods, including, but not limited to, clothing, food,
and personal items, directly to the customer and is located within
or doing business within the geographical limits of the Borough. Retail
establishments include: a business establishment that generates a
sales or use tax; a drug store, pharmacy, supermarket, grocery store,
convenience food store, food mart, liquor store or other commercial
entity engaged in the retail sale of goods; a public eating establishment
(i.e., a restaurant, take-out food establishment, or any other business
that prepares and sells prepared food to be eaten on or off its premises);
and a business establishment that sells clothing, hardware, or any
other nonperishable goods.
The following types of retail establishments are exempt from
the provisions in this chapter:
Retail establishments with less than 1,000 square feet of retail
space.
A.
Effective on the 60th day following the effective date of this chapter,
each retail establishment in the Borough shall charge a fee of $0.10
per plastic carry-out bag provided for the purpose of carrying away
goods from the point of sale. This fee applies to plastic carry-out
bags used for take-out deliveries from retail establishments within
the Borough. The point of sale in all transactions shall be deemed
to be at the retail establishment, regardless of where payment for
the transaction physically occurs.
B.
Effective on the 60th day following the effective date of this chapter,
each retail establishment in the Borough shall make available to,
and advise customers of, the availability of compliant paper bags
as defined herein as an alternative for the purpose of carrying away
goods from the point of sale. No fee shall be charged to the customer
for choosing a compliant paper bag for the purpose of carrying away
goods from the point of sale. At all times, the retailer or merchant
may, at its sole option, determine to institute a "no bags" option,
meaning that the said retailer or merchant may opt not to provide
any bag to a retail customer, whether plastic, compliant paper or
otherwise.
C.
Nothing in this section shall prohibit customers from using their
own bags in lieu of using any type of bags available from the retail
establishment, or from carrying away goods that are not placed in
a bag.
D.
Nothing in this section shall prohibit retail establishments from
selling reusable bags to their customers at the sole option of the
customer.
A.
Effective on the 240th day following the effective date of this chapter,
no retail establishment in the Borough shall make available to any
customer a plastic carry-out bag for the purpose of carrying away
goods from the point of sale. This prohibition applies to plastic
carry-out bags used for take-out deliveries from retail establishments
within the Borough. The point of sale in all transactions shall be
deemed to be at the retail establishment, regardless of where payment
for the transaction physically occurs.
B.
Effective on the 240th day following the effective date of this chapter,
only compliant bags shall be made available to customers at the point
of sale. Each retail establishment in the Borough shall charge a fee
of $0.10 per compliant paper bag provided for the purpose of carrying
away goods from the point of sale. This fee applies to compliant paper
bags used for take-out deliveries from retail establishments within
the Borough. The point of sale in all transactions shall be deemed
to be at the retail establishment, regardless of where payment for
the transaction physically occurs. At all times, the retailer or merchant
may, at its sole option, determine to institute a "no bags" option,
meaning that the said retailer or merchant may opt not to provide
any bag to a retail customer, whether plastic, compliant paper or
otherwise.
C.
Nothing in this section shall prohibit customers from using their
own bags in lieu of using any type of bags available from the retail
establishment, or from carrying away goods that are not placed in
a bag.
D.
Nothing in this section prohibits retail establishments from selling
reusable bags to their customers at the sole option of the customer.
Any customer who participates in, or is a beneficiary of, any
United States government federal welfare program, or any local or
county welfare assistance program, or any New Jersey State welfare
program, including but not limited to the New Jersey Supplemental
Assistance Program (SNAP) or the New Jersey State Supplemental Income
Program (SSI) shall be exempted from paying any fee on plastic or
compliant paper bags offered at the point of sale.
A.
Any retail establishment that shall violate or fail to comply with
any of the requirements of this chapter after an initial written warning
notice has been issued to the retail establishment regarding the existence
of this chapter regulating the distribution of plastic carry-out bags
shall be liable for violation of this chapter. Such written warning
shall be issued only once to each retail establishment and shall not
be required before the issuance of any subsequent violation.
B.
For a first violation of this chapter, a fine not exceeding $100
shall be imposed upon the owner, operator or manager of the retail
establishment. For a second violation of this chapter, a fine not
exceeding $200 shall be imposed upon the owner, operator or manager
of the retail establishment. For a third offense and subsequent offenses,
a fine of not less than $250 nor more than $500 shall be imposed upon
the owner, operator or manager of the retail establishment.
A.
The fees collected by retail establishments in the Borough for plastic
and compliant paper bags must be recorded separately on the sales
transaction slip for the purpose of indicating to the customer how
much they were charged for each compliant and/or plastic carry-out
bag at the point of sale.
B.
All retail establishments are strongly encouraged to use a portion
of the fees collected as stated herein for the purpose of educating
their staff about the positive environmental and economic impacts
of using reusable and recyclable compliant paper carry-out bags and
by displaying signage in their retail establishments to this effect.
C.
In the first year following the effective date of this chapter, all
efforts will be made by the Borough to assist retail establishments
in implementing this chapter with minimal disruption of retail business
and provision of alternative suppliers of compliant bags and reusable
bags.
