Legislature Mulls Tax for Plastic Bags at Grocery Stores

A New Jersey Senate Committee voted last week to approve a new 5-cent fee for plastic supermarket bags that will fund environmental cleanup.

A new Senate bill could have you paying more for plastic bags at the grocery store.   The Carryout Bag Reduction and Recycling Act was approved by a 4-0 vote of the Senate Environmental Energy Committee last week and would require stores to charge a 5-cent fee per plastic food bag at the checkout aisle beginning in 2014.   On the other hand, the bill would also give a 5-cent rebate or credit for every reusable bag provided by a shopper. In addition, the bill would require stores to only offer recyclable carryout bags by 2015.  The bill will soon be taken up in the Assembly, according to NJ.com.  The 5-cent fee would go toward the Department of Environmental Protection’s Barnegat Bay Restoration Fund, which works to improve the water …

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