**UPDATE:** S2515/A4676 has been added to the voting agenda in the Assembly for Monday, Jan 10, 2022
TOM JOHNSON, ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT WRITER NJ Spotlight
Bill seeks to reduce plastics pollution by forcing manufacturers to use more recycled material in products
A two-year fight to reduce plastic pollution in New Jersey inched forward when legislators approved a bill Thursday to mandate increased use of recycled plastics in manufacturers’ products.
The legislation (S2515/A4676) would require manufacturers to use more post-consumer recycled content in a variety of packaging products including plastic containers, plastic bags and plastic trash bags, as well as glass containers and paper bags.
If enacted, the law will go a long way to boost the market for recyclables, which has collapsed in recent years, and to reduce demand for new petroleum-derived plastics, according to many of the state’s most prominent environmental organizations.
The bill, kicked around by lawmakers since the beginning of the legislative term two years ago, could win final approval if both the Assembly and the Senate pass the measure in Monday’s final voting session of the term. Neither house has posted the bill on its agenda yet.
In releasing the bill by a 7-4 vote Thursday, the Assembly Appropriations Committee amended the bill to reduce the amount of post-consumer recycled content in rigid plastic containers, but increase the amount from 5% to 10% five years after the bill’s implementation.
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