The blue wave that swept New Jersey this month delivered a clear message: voters want leaders who prioritize affordability and jobs. As the holiday shopping season approaches, lawmakers have an immediate opportunity to do just that. The governor and legislature can reduce grocery and gift-shopping costs while supporting good-paying union manufacturing jobs right here in New Jersey by advancing S3413 to bring back paper bags at checkout.

New Jersey’s 2022 ban on single-use plastic bags was well-intentioned. Between May and December 2022, it eliminated 5.5 billion single-use plastic bags—a meaningful win for the environment. But by pairing the plastic ban with a ban on paper bags, the law went too far. It erased the very real differences between plastic and recyclable paper products, treating them as if they had the same environmental impact. They don’t.

With paper bags prohibited, grocers were forced into a one-size-fits-all alternative: thick non-woven polypropylene (NWPP) “reusable” bags. These bags are made from non-recyclable plastic and are far more resource-intensive than the lightweight plastic bags that were banned. The results speak for themselves. A 2024 study found that, despite fewer bags being used overall, the total amount of plastic consumed in New Jersey tripled because shoppers were pushed into much thicker bags. As The New York Times highlighted, these bulky totes are piling up in homes, closets, and backseats—often tossed after only a few uses. Worse yet, every time we forget to bring them in the store, it adds more to an already inflated grocery bill.

Let’s help shoppers by giving grocers the option to offer paper bags again, a low cost, environmentally responsible alternative made with post-consumer recycled content and accepted in curbside recycling programs. No mandate, just a choice for consumers and businesses.

And the public is firmly behind that choice. Polling shows that more than 60% of New Jersey residents support allowing recyclable paper bags at checkout. For working families already stretched by rising prices, having a paper option is a matter of basic fairness.

This legislation would also deliver a major win for New Jersey’s industrial economy. Manufacturing and logistics are the backbone of the state’s middle-class workforce: freight stock and material movers alone account for roughly 108,000 jobs. When the original ban passed in 2020, nearly 8,800 New Jerseyans worked in pulp and paper production — about 4% of all manufacturing jobs. Restoring paper bag production would bolster operations and expand opportunities for union workers at the Duro Bag manufacturing facility in Elizabeth. These are stable, good-paying union jobs that keep our communities strong.

The momentum is already there. Earlier this year, the Senate Commerce Committee advanced S3413 unanimously after hearing testimony from union members. ILA Local 1478-2 and the New Jersey State AFL-CIO strongly urged passage because of the bill’s potential to bring back manufacturing jobs, strengthen supply chains, and grow the state’s industrial base.

The Legislature should move quickly and send this bill to the Governor’s desk. Passing it now would lower costs for families, protect good-paying union jobs in Elizabeth, and finally replace the current one-size-fits-all system with practical, more sustainable options made with post-consumer recycled content.

New Jersey can correct course with a policy that protects both our paychecks and our planet. Restoring the option for affordable, sustainable paper bags is responsible, popular, and long overdue. Let’s get it done.

Orbito Diaz is an officer of the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA), serving as the Secretary Treasurer for Local 1478-2.