FOOD-HANDLING ESTABLISHMENT
Any establishment, business, store or commercial property,
properly licensed where required and inspected, which serves made-to-order
food or beverages for dine-in, takeout or delivery, including food
trucks and mobile carts.
GOODS AND PRODUCTS
Things and items that are prepared and made to be sold, including,
but not limited to, groceries, prepared food, foodstuffs, meat, dairy,
beverages, alcohol and any and all other related items sold at retail
by businesses and stores.
PRODUCE BAG or PRODUCT BAG
Any bag without handles that is used exclusively to segregate
produce, meats, seafood, nuts, other food items and merchandise to
carry them inside the store to the point of sale or to prevent such
items from coming into direct contact with other purchased items,
where such contact could damage or contaminate other food or merchandise
when placed together in a reusable or recycled bag.
RETAIL
The sale of goods and products for use and/or consumption.
RETAIL ESTABLISHMENT or RETAIL STORE
For the purpose of this section, retail establishment shall
mean any commercial establishment, whether or not operated for profit,
including, but not limited to, mercantile establishment or store that
engages in the sale of goods and products. The definition includes,
but is not limited to, pharmacies, supermarkets, grocery stores, convenience
stores, clothing stores, food marts, food service establishments,
seasonal and temporary businesses, home-based businesses, indoor or
outdoor markets, and street fairs, which utilize single-use plastic
carry-out bags for the conveyance of merchandise.
REUSABLE BAG
A bag that is designed and manufactured to withstand repeated
uses, is machine washable or made from a material that can be cleaned
and disinfected regularly and meets the following criteria: i) has
a minimum lifetime of 125 uses, ii) is capable of carrying a minimum
of 22 pounds, andiii) does not contain lead, cadmium or any other
heavy metal in toxic amounts (as defined by applicable state and federal
standards and regulations), and iv) has handles.
SINGLE-USE PLASTIC CARRY-OUT BAG
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
or store to a customer at the point of sale. The term also includes
bags that are compostable or biodegradable, but does not include reusable
bags, produce bags or product bags (as defined above). This definition
specifically exempts the following from the category of "single-use
plastic carry-out bag":
A.
Bags provided by operators and used by consumers inside retail
establishments or stores to: (1) package bulk items, such as fruit,
vegetables, nuts, grains, candies, or small hardware items; (2) contain
or wrap frozen foods, meat, or fish, whether packaged or not; (3)
contain or wrap flowers, potted plants, or other items where dampness
may be an issue; (4) contain unwrapped prepared foods or bakery goods;
or (5) contain prescription drugs.
B.
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.
All retail establishments or stores must provide at the point
of sale, free of charge, compliant bags of the retail establishment's
or store operator's choice to any customer who participates in or
is the beneficiary of any United States government federal welfare
program, or any local or Bergen County welfare assistance program,
or any New Jersey State welfare program, including but not limited
to the New Jersey Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP)
or the New Jersey State Supplemental Security Income Program (SSI).
[Amended 4-15-2020 by Ord. No. 3794]
A. The employees
of the Health Department, employees of the Building Department and/or
any other Village Official or employee so designated by the Village
Manager shall have the authority to enforce the provisions of this chapter,
including, but not limited to, investigating complaints or violations,
conducting unannounced or random site inspections, or during regularly
scheduled inspections of the premises by the Registered Environmental
Health Specialist, at any retail establishment or store subject to
the terms and provisions of this chapter to verify compliance, and
the issuance of warnings and/or violations consistent with this chapter.
B. After the issuance of an initial written warning, any food-handling
establishment, retail establishment or retail store found with subsequent
violations of this chapter shall be subject to the following penalties:
(1) For a first cited offense: a fine of $50.
(2) For a second cited offense: a fine of $100.
(3) For a third cited offense: a fine of $200.
(4) Upon conviction of a fourth cited offense and all subsequent cited
offenses: a fine not to exceed $1,000, at the discretion of the Court.
C. Violations shall be issued to, and be the responsibility of, the
food-handling establishment, retail establishment or retail store
or its owner and shall not be levied against the end user or consumer.
Nothing in this chapter is intended to create any requirement,
power or duty that is in conflict with any federal or state law.
All ordinances or parts thereof in conflict or inconsistent
with this chapter are hereby repealed to the extent of such conflict
or inconsistency.
All other parts, portions and provisions of the Village Code
of the Village of Ridgewood, be and the same are hereby ratified and
confirmed, except where inconsistent with the terms thereof. In the
event of any such inconsistency, the terms of this chapter shall be
deemed to govern.
The provisions of this chapter are declared to be severable
and if any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase thereof
for any reason be held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a court
of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity
of the remaining sections, subsections, sentences, clauses and phrases
of this chapter, but shall remain in effect; it being the legislative
intent that this chapter shall stand notwithstanding the invalidity
of any part thereof.
This chapter shall take effect on January 1, 2020.