Plastic bags have been officially banned from the state’s retail capital—Paramus. 

The ordinance was approved Wednesday night, August 21, at the borough council meeting.  It bans single-use plastic bags and polystyrene, also known as Styrofoam, from the borough, and will go into effect January 2020. 

Paramus is the center of shopping in New Jersey.  It includes a about 700 retail stores and sees more retail sales than any other zip code in the country. 

“Given that Paramus really is a shopping hub for New Jersey and really, the Northeast, this ordinance is going to make a tremendous impact, because it will reduce single-use plastic waste and we’re quite certain it will inspire other municipalities to adopt [similar ordinances],” Jennifer Coffey, the executive director of the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions, said. 

Coffey said ANJEC had been working with the Paramus Environmental Commission for several months on the ordinance and they are “very excited” the council adopted the measure. 

This ordinance comes after a growing number of towns and cities are banning single-use plastic bags and adopting similar regulations. 

Currently, 22 New Jersey municipalities—and one county—have plastic bag regulations in effect.  At least another 12 have passed ordinances which are now waiting to into effect, according to an NJ Advance Media count. 

The ordinance said on average, one person uses 500 single-use disposable plastic bags per year and four billion single-use shopping bags are used annually in New Jersey.  Less than 1 percent of plastic bags are recycled, it says. 

The only exemption in the ordinance is a “reusable bag” which is defined as a sewn bag made of cloth or other washable fabric. 

Frederick Rohdieck, the president of the Paramus Chamber of Commerce, did not respond to immediate requests for comment on the effects of the ban to the many retailers in the area. 

Paramus is home to four major malls and a slew of other stores and shopping centers that line Routes 4 and 17.  More than $6 billion in retail sales happen in Paramus each year. 

“[Municipalities we’re working with] that have a lot of shopping are now telling us if Paramus can do it, we can do it,” Coffey said. “ It’s going to have a great effect.” 

Brianna Kudisch may be reached at bkudisch@njadvancemedia.com Follow her on Twitter @briannakudisch.  Find NJ.com on Facebook.  Have a tip?  Tell us.  nj.com/tips. 

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