SOUTH JERSEY (KYW Newsradio) — New Jersey's ban on most single-use plastics takes effect May 4, and stores won’t be allowed to provide customers with plastic bags. Customers will need to bring or buy their own reusable ones.
Things to know
You can bring whatever you want to carry your groceries. Cardboard box? Yep. Backpack, purse, duffel bag, suitcase? All good. You can even buy a big planter or a contractor bucket.
Or nothing at all, and load up the groceries loosely into your car and take care of it when you get home. This option, though, could get a little messy.
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The cost
We visited a bunch of stores to see what the reusable bags are going for at the register. Prices range from under $1 to $10 for a cooler bag.
Acme: There are some options here ranging from $1.39 to $3, depending on what you pick.
Aldi: You’ll find bags for $1.99 or 98 cents.
ShopRite: There are reusable bags for $1.49 and bundles of 75 classic plastic bags for $3.99 while supplies last.
Target: Reusable bullseye bags for 99 cents, and stores are giving out thousands of them for free. You get 5 cents off your bill for every reusable bag you used at checkout.
Walmart: Reusable bags near the register for 50 cents or 99 cents.
Wawa: Signs up at the store we visited for reusable 35-cent bags, but they weren’t out yet.
Wegmans: Brace yourself. Bags near the entrance are listed at $7.99.
Whole Foods: Regular reusable bags are $4.99, and it’s $9.99 for a thermal hot/cold bag near the meat and seafood section. Staff there told us they are reworking displays soon, ahead of that May 4 date.
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What people are saying
The state’s plastic bag ban is likely to cause some real frustration for some people in the beginning.
“We have the bags at home,” Daria Farling told us at the Wegman’s in Mount Laurel. “I just always forget to put them in the car.”
She can’t imagine spending the money they’re asking there for a reusable bag.
The plastic bag ban is no big deal for Tammy Davis of Vineland. Inside the Whole Foods in Marlton, she told us she’s been bringing her own reusable bags for years.
“It’s just good for the environment,” she said.
“But honestly, just the fact that you can put so much more in the bag and carry it and not worry about bags ripping is just convenient for me.”
She says eventually, you’ll get used to bringing your own, too.
You can read the full text of the ban below.
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