Camden County to remove plastic straws, other single-use items, from its buildings and events

CAMDEN – Camden County freeholders have banned the use of plastic straws, utensils and other single-use items at county facilities and events.

The freeholders approved the ban at their monthly meeting Thursday night — 10 days after Collingswood’s commissioners approved limits on plastic bags at borough businesses.

Officials say the restrictions will reduce the amount of plastic going into the area’s waste stream and, ultimately, into its waterways. The bans also are meant to reduce the amount of fossil fuels used to make plastic, they say.

The county ban, to take effect Jan. 1, 2020, will cover all single-use plastic bags, straws, stirrers, and utensils.

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Also prohibited: Polystyrene (Styrofoam) products and bottled water in single-serve containers of one liter or less.

The affected items will be replaced by non-plastic alternatives as existing supplies are used up over the coming months, said Freeholder Jonathan Young Sr.

"We’re planning by 2021 to be totally plastic-free,” said Young, liaison to the county’s Office of Sustainability.

The county's action prompted calls for statewide action by the New Jersey Sierra Club.

"If Camden County can ban plastic, then every other county and town in New Jersey can do it," said Jeff Tittel, the state club's director.

"Beach sweeps in New Jersey have found that more than 80 percent of their trash is plastic," Tittel observed. "What is even worse is that there has been a 59 percent increase in plastic straws found on beaches from these sweeps."

But a local Republican leader said the action by the all-Democratic board failed to help taxpayers, and he vowed to offer plastic straws at a fundraising event Saturday at Trump National Golf Club in Pine Hill.

"I promise there will be a tiny red plastic straw in every drink ordered if I have to buy the straws myself," said Camden County GOP Chairman Rich Ambrosino.

Voluntary participation has already begun for Collingswood’s measure, which becomes mandatory on April 15, 2020, said borough spokeswoman Cass Duffey.

“The Business Improvement District is making paper bags available to all members immediately,” she said, adding officials also hope to see more people shopping with reusable bags.

The ordinance requires merchants to charge at least 10 cents per customer for recyclable paper bags.

That fee’s intended to “encourage people to go without a bag or utilize reusable bags whenever possible,” said Sandi Kelly, a representative of Collingswood’s Green Team.

Retailers also can choose to provide a credit to customers who bring their own bags.

Collingswood’s ban, which will extend to the borough’s farmers’ market, generally prohibits the use of “single-use, plastic carryout bags at check stand, cash register or point of sale.”

Exceptions include bags used for a variety of food items, including meat, fish, bakery goods, unpackaged bulk produce and prepared foods for delivery, as well as for “flowers, potted plants or other items where dampness may be an issue.”

The measure also does not apply to bags for newspapers, dry-cleaning and prescription medicines, among other uses.

Merchants who violate the ordinance would initially receive a written warning, but could  face fines of up to $150 for a subsequent infraction. The penalty could rise to $500 for repeat offenders.

Collingswood’s business improvement district will offer guidelines and resources for local businesses, Duffey said.

“We’re also looking at putting together a subsidized bag program to help offset costs for businesses and a reusable tote program for businesses,” she said.

The borough's ordinance is the first in the tri-county area, said Kelly. About 23 similar measures are in effect statewide, she added.

Both the Collingswood and county restrictions took a while to develop.

“The borough commission did outreach to the businesses for a few months prior and the Green Team and borough did a plastic bag reduction education campaign for a year prior,” said Kelly. “It helps that there is a lot of awareness surrounding this issue at this point.”

Camden County spent four months reviewing its use of plastic items and consulting with suppliers, said Young.

In addition to county offices, the ban will cover the county's college, detention facilities and library system. It also will apply to vending machine in county facilities, a restaurant in the county's Cooper River Park and vending machines in county buildings.

“A lot of the vendors have alternative products that they can use,” said Young, who acknowledged those options will likely cost more than plastic items.

“It’s not that much more,” he asserted. “You’re talking a difference between 10 cents and 15 cents apiece. It’s not a huge, huge jump.”

He said the freeholders were "committed to finding environmentally friendly alternatives that can serve the same functions at a fraction of the cost to our planet’s health.”

According to Collingswood’s ordinance, the average person uses 500 disposable bags per year with a statewide total of 4 billion single-use shopping bags each year. Only about 1 percent of those bags are recycled, it says.

Plastic "is the most prevalent type of marine debris,” said Young, who noted the material slowly breaks down into tiny particles called microplastics.

Studies by Rutgers University scientists "recently found densities of about 28,000 to more than 3 million plastic particles per square kilometer" in the Passaic and Raritan rivers," said Tittel at the Sierra Club.

He called plastics "an existential threat to our drinking water, beaches, and wildlife."

Collingswood’s ordinance also notes 12 million barrels of oil are used annually to make plastic bags for Americans, “emitting 4.8 million metric tons of (carbon dioxide) into our atmosphere and contributing to global warming and climate change.”

“The quicker we can stop using fossil fuels, the better off we are,” said Young.

He acknowledged the county’s use of plastics reflects “just a ripple” in national demand.

"But if we can change the mindset of people and our vendors, that starts the process," he said. "We hoping the municipalities at some point will start taking on the ban."

"I firmly believe it is our responsibility as elected officials to leave this place a lot better than we found it,” the freeholder said. 

Jim Walsh is a free-range reporter who’s been roaming around South Jersey for decades. His interests include crime, the courts, economic development and being first with breaking news. Reach him at jwalsh@gannettnj.com or look for him in traffic.

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