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Paper Bags Are a Sustainable Choice for New Jersey

CONTACT: Tim Ebner
(202) 463-2436, comm@afandpa.org

WASHINGTON – The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) President and CEO Heidi Brock released the following statement in response to renewed discussions on the harm caused by New Jersey’s paper bag ban: 

“Paper bags are a sustainable choice and part of an environmental solution for the Garden State.  

“Recyclable paper bags can serve as an alternative to the increasing volume of reusable, but non-recyclable, bags being distributed without any plan for end-of-life impacts. 

“New Jersey is the only state in the nation that has banned paper bags. Lawmakers in Trenton can fix this broken law right now. An amendment is needed to ensure access to paper bags, which are 100% recyclable, as well as reusable and compostable.”

The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) serves to advance public policies that foster economic growth, job creation and global competitiveness for a vital sector that makes the essential paper and packaging products Americans use every day. The U.S. forest products industry employs more than 925,000 people, largely in rural America, and is among the top 10 manufacturing sector employers in 44 states. Our industry accounts for approximately 4.7% of the total U.S. manufacturing GDP, manufacturing more than $435 billion in products annually. AF&PA member companies are significant producers and users of renewable biomass energy and are committed to making sustainable products for a sustainable future through the industry’s decades-long initiative — Better Practices, Better Planet 2030