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friendfromjersey t1_je5ict7 wrote

And the same people who whined the loudest about these bans are the same people who now pretend to care about whales…

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ThatEcologist t1_je69zmw wrote

Came here JUST to say this. Funny how the pro whale people never seemed to care about the environment before these incidents

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friendfromjersey t1_je6anpr wrote

Honestly, they still don’t. Their politicians and news channels are telling them to be outraged. They don’t need proof…just outrage.

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SmeemyMeemy t1_je9b5hm wrote

They yell at us to save the whales as they throw their cigarette butts on the ground. It is unreal.

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fpfx t1_je5k2x6 wrote

Know what else would help curb shore trash? Blocking parkway access from Staten Island. I kid, I kid.

Mostly.

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fisheyez t1_je674bi wrote

How ban helium balloons. Every hike I’ve ever been on I’ve found a metallic balloon stuck in a tree or half buried in leaves

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DarkMimic2287 t1_je51arw wrote

Right, because the ban was about more than just carbon footprint.

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IronSeagull t1_je62ddv wrote

If you're mad about the straw ban and hate paper straws, you should know that there are far better biodegradable straws that are comparable in price to paper straws and don't break down while you're drinking. I use bamboo, but I've also used straws made from PLA, sugar cane, seaweed, and other things. All superior to paper straws in every way.

Any business that's uses paper straws hates you and is punishing you for the fraction of a penny per $2 drink that it costs them to comply with the law.

I keep a box of bamboo straws in my car so I never have to use a paper straw (or plastic straw).

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oldnjgal t1_je6a9yk wrote

Was at a restaurant that used pasta straws.

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JackyVeronica t1_je65ppg wrote

Gonnna look into bamboo straws, thank you! I use reusable straws (wash after each use) at home and I hate plastic straws when I'm out! They flatten in my slushies LOL so I'm gonna carry around biodegradable straws moving forward, thanks!

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vulcan07006 t1_je6u96l wrote

I'm going to assume you're an adult. I haven't used a straw in 40 years. We can all drink from a cup

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StuartGotz t1_je5s2wp wrote

Hmm maybe this is why the whales are beaching themselves. There’s probably a scarcity of plastic bags in. the ocean and whales are trying to come on shore to get the bags.

(/s in case you can’t tell)

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AccountantOfFraud t1_je6itux wrote

They got a taste for the piles of plastic bags lining their stomachs and they. WANT. MORE.

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McLamb0 t1_je5i54d wrote

This was obvious and more states should adopt this. Society as a whole needs to get off single use plastics.

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friendfromjersey t1_je5rud0 wrote

Now we need a law forcing the grocery store chains to cut down on their plastic packaging. It’s obscene how much unnecessary plastic packaging they use.

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TheFotty t1_je65lj6 wrote

Even cardboard. Amazon ships me stuff that comes in its own cardboard box with adequate internal packaging, inside their own larger amazon cardboard box with laughable internal packaging. I know its easier to recycle, but it is such a waste.

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AaronJudgesLeftNut t1_je566iu wrote

Genuinely wonder how they got to the 37% number. Neat regardless tho even if it’s totally anecdotal

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ProbstBucks t1_je5a46z wrote

I skimmed the report, and they have the volunteers track what types of trash they're picking up. However, I'm not clear that they're accounting for the fact that they had 2,000 less volunteers and picked up 100,000 less pieces of trash than last year. Is there genuinely less trash or were they just able to pick up less of it?

Although the drop in plastic bag trash compared to all other trash certainly does indicate that the ban is working.

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calypsodweller t1_je6jyul wrote

I’ll throw in my anecdote: in the summertime, I paddleboard a 3 mile trek (6 back & forth) in the Barnegat Bay from Bay Head to Mantoloking. I pick up trash along the way. I used to fish out about 4 bags daily. Now, I pick up one every other day, but it’s now only an ice or bait bag. Rarely am I finding the plastic shopping bags. I still pick up Mylar balloons and daily floating cans of White Claws.

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the_last_carfighter t1_je5ml1a wrote

Gonna need that hard data to make sure that, less bags in the environment = less bags in the environment. Ok

We should check outside the environment, maybe that's where they towed them.

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NJ0808FX t1_je6uyww wrote

In the 2010s I was involved in a lot of beach sweeps and the plastic straw inventory was fascinating. There was a fuck ton of straws and you’d be able to sort the straws by dunkin , McDonald’s, Burger King etc. if I remember correctly we got the beach snack vendors to stop including straws in their drinks after showing them how many of their straws ended up in the sand.

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moondoggie_00 t1_je66bx1 wrote

It also doesn't represent a total ban since many places still provide plastic bags. Like your local pizza or Chinese joint, for example.

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Motivator9931 t1_je6ec4i wrote

Plastic bags are banned for all businesses, including pizza and Chinese places. They're only allowed to provide paper bags.

>Starting May 4, 2022, New Jersey retail stores, grocery stores and food service businesses may not provide or sell single-use plastic carryout bags and polystyrene foam food service products. Single-use paper carryout bags are allowed to be provided or sold, except by grocery stores equal to or larger than 2500 square feet, which may only provide or sell reusable carryout bags.

https://dep.nj.gov/get-past-plastic/

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moondoggie_00 t1_je6eq19 wrote

I know what it says, thanks. If I place an order at any number of places, right now, I'm getting a plastic bag.

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avidreader_1410 t1_je9ioqu wrote

Also - I know this as a dog owner whose #1 use for those plastic bags was #2 - that you can order bags comparable to the grocery store bags online now, something like $20 for a few hundred. So if you can get plastic bags, and still use plastic bags the "ban" is only banning stores from giving you plastic bags.

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NewAgePhilosophr t1_je5oltl wrote

As a wildlife enthusiast and hiker who spends a lot of time outside; yes, the plastic ban works.

I've seen less trash in public and in natural areas and forests of the state.

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Tapirium t1_je67sdn wrote

I made a comment to my girlfriend just yesterday! I noted that there aren't as plastic bags on the roadsides. I noticed in my region, litter is not nearly as abundant pre-bag ban. Just goes to show, a substantial portion of the NJ population will fight against their best interests. Glad the State government isn't caving to these folks.

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highporkroller t1_je7i03s wrote

Maybe people are just aren’t being scumbags and littering as much…nah lol. The bag ban is a joke. There are so many plastic products that make just as much of an impact or more but infringe on human convenience too much.

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Motivator9931 t1_je7v909 wrote

How is it a joke? Plastic bags are an easy thing to eliminate and it has been successful so far.

It's a positive step forward and hopefully more will single use plastics will be eliminated in the future. It's just 1 example, but not long ago Costco stopped selling apples in a plastic clamshell and now use a cardboard box.

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Jimmytowne t1_je65abi wrote

I’m glad to see there are no ghosts in my trees anymore. The amount of plastic bags stuck to branches was a daily annoyance.

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AC_Deadhead t1_je79tv6 wrote

Don't need a report to tell me. I have observed a noticeable drop in plastic bag trash that makes it way to the back of Ventnor Heights. I drive in and out on a daily basis; and it is wonderful not to see the plastic bag crust at low tide.

Imagine putting cream and sugar in the bottom of your WaWa coffee cup and then pouring the coffee over top of it so that it all stirs completely! Voila! There would be no need to use a throw away coffee stirrer.

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OkBid1535 t1_je8xc4d wrote

I use this method when making coffee at home. Now I only have to stir it when I reheat the same cup 4x. I’m a mom and forget about my damn coffee too often haha

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jdl232 t1_je6zbdv wrote

Very proud to participate in these. One of our priorities this year was to see how the plastic bag ban affected that type of pollution. Sad that I won’t be attending the one this April. If you can, sign up for the beach sweeps!!

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Lardsoup t1_je87ciz wrote

Well, there better be some sort of positive effect, because this law is a pain in my ass.

Do you know how hard it is to carry three 1.5 liter bottles of wine to the car?

Shit, ya buy 3.5g of weed and they put it on a bag.

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vabello t1_je9lobw wrote

That’s seriously great. Now I just have to solve the mountain of reusable bags I have. We do shop from home for some grocery trips, and they always come with new reusable bags because they have to put them in something to bring them out to your car… so now I just have a lot of reusable bags to throw away. Seems to defeat the purpose. I’d happily give 95% of them to anyone who could legitimately use them.

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RafeDangerous t1_jea0r4v wrote

As long as they're in good shape, offer them on something like a community Facebook page. Whenever I see them on mine they're usually gone pretty fast.

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avidreader_1410 t1_je9idrn wrote

A few years I did the volunteer beach clean up, they usually do it around this time to get the beaches ready for the season.This was before the plastic bag ban. We got big black plastic bags (plastic!) so we could walk the length of the beach and pick up what we found. Except for cigarette butts and an occasional "poo bag" that someone left on the beach instead of tossing in the trash, most of the "trash" was seaweed, broken shells, scraps of driftwood a couple beer cans or bottles and the occasional sock or flip flop.

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fishingwithmk t1_jea5nmw wrote

just wait until i throw out the entire closet full of reusable bags i have from forgetting to bring my own.....the ban did little else than shifting the cost of bags on to the consumer

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Otisnj3 t1_je7qw2v wrote

How many masks?

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Pyrot3kh t1_je5exdh wrote

So glad that every business no longer has to buy bags for customers... I just wish they'd share those savings, too...

Also, yay environment!

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highporkroller t1_je7i5pz wrote

People are buying single use bags instead of the retailers now. Just another shift of costs to the consumer.

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Motivator9931 t1_je7vofe wrote

Why would they be buying single use bags? A reusable bag pays for itself in a few trips and lasts a long time.

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highporkroller t1_je7vt3l wrote

It’s not just about shopping. People use them for garbage bags around the house, dog waste, etc.

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RafeDangerous t1_jea0bv5 wrote

Okay, but that's a much lower number than "everyone". Even if it's as high as 50% of people still need those bags to clean up after their dog or for trash, which I seriously doubt, it's still half as many bags being needlessly thrown away. Also, for cleaning up after dogs, shopping bags were always a horrible choice. You can get rolls of biodegradable bags that clip onto your leash for a couple of bucks that take up less space than a single grocery bag in your pocket and won't leave you hanging when your realize you forgot to grab a bag on the way out or a hand full of shit when you realize that there's a hole in the bag.

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highporkroller t1_jeab6g4 wrote

I get it. I really do and don’t think it’s a bad idea. But why start (and stop) with shopping bags? There is so much more plastic waste on the 20 things you put into one shopping bag. Or your Starbucks coffee cup/lids that they aren’t mandating you use reusable for.

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RafeDangerous t1_jeafgak wrote

oh absolutely, overpackaging is ridiculous. One of the ones I find most stupidly ironic is Impossible Burgers. They go on about how environmentally friendly they are as opposed to actual meat, which is probably true, but then it's in this absurd plastic blister-pack thing...there's got to be a better way to do that. I guess they have to start somewhere with this stuff though, and shopping bags are probably one of the easiest (comparatively) things to go after.

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AdTop8972 t1_je6o6rv wrote

There all in the landfills we threw them all in the garbage millions of bags per store. It will catch up to the environment in a few years when theres all this plastic that wont breakdown in the landfills. But yay lets cut down trees to prevent the small amount of plastic bags from getting in the water. Solve one problem by making a much bigger problem gota love the American way.

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