[Adopted by the Village Council of the Village of Ridgewood 6-12-2019 by Ord. No. 3722. Amendments noted where applicable.]
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.
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.
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.
A paper bag that is able to be recycled.
The sale of goods and products for use and/or consumption.
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.
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.
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":
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.
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.
A.
No retail establishment or store shall provide to any customer a
single-use plastic carry-out bag provided for the purpose of transporting
products or goods out of the business or store at the checkout stand,
cash register, point of sale or other point of departure, except as
otherwise provided in this chapter.
B.
These prohibitions apply to single-use plastic carry-out bags used
for take-out and/or deliveries from retail establishments or stores
within the Village of Ridgewood. The point of sale in such transactions
is deemed to be at the retail establishment or store, regardless of
where payment for the transaction physically occurs.
A.
All retail establishments or stores may make available to customers,
for an optional fee, reusable bags as defined in this chapter and
recyclable paper carry-out bags for the purpose of carrying goods
or other materials away from the point of sale, subject to the provisions
of this chapter. Any such reusable bag made available to customers
by any retail establishment shall bear writing on the outside of the
bag that it is designed or manufactured to have a minimum lifetime
of 125 uses, or in the alternative, the retail establishment or store
must have available for inspection a written document from the manufacturer
or distributor evidencing that the reusable bag made available by
it has a lifetime minimum of 125 uses. The fee charged shall be reflected
in the sales receipt. The retail establishment or store may charge
a fee for recyclable paper carry-out bags as it sees fit.
[Amended 4-15-2020 by Ord. No. 3794]
B.
Nothing in this chapter prohibits customers from using bags of any
type that they choose to bring to retail establishments or stores
themselves, in lieu of using bags available for a fee from the retail
establishment or store, or from carrying away purchased goods that
are not placed in a bag.
A.
Any fee shall be separately stated on the receipt provided to the
customer at the time of sale and shall be identified as the "checkout
bag charge" or use similar identifying language. Small recyclable
paper bags without handles and measuring eight inches by 16 inches
or less are exempt from any fee.
B.
All monies collected by retail establishments or stores under this
chapter shall be retained by the store.
A.
A retail establishment or store may choose, in its discretion, to
provide a credit to customers that choose to bring their own bags.
B.
Each retail establishment or store is strongly encouraged to educate
its staff to promote the use of reusable bags and to post signs encouraging
customers to bring their own reusable bags.
C.
If a retail establishment or store makes available reusable plastic
bags made of plastic film, the retail establishment or store is strongly
encouraged to educate customers about plastic film recycling.
D.
Each retail establishment or store that provides takeout or delivery
services is encouraged to provide customers with a choice to avoid
use of reusable bags made of plastic.
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:
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.
