ASSEMBLY ENVIRONMENT, NATURAL RESOURCES, AND
SOLID WASTE COMMITTEE
STATEMENT TO
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
ASSEMBLY, No. 5009
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
DATED: MAY 8, 2025
The Assembly Environment, Natural Resources, and Solid Waste
Committee reports favorably an Assembly Committee Substitute for
Assembly Bill No. 5009.
This bill, to be known as the "Packaging and Paper Product
Stewardship Act," would require producers of packaging and paper
products to develop and implement product stewardship plans to
provide for better end-of-life management of their products. The bill
would authorize producers of products covered under the bill to join a
producer responsibility organization (PRO), which would collect fees
from its members to develop and administer a joint product
stewardship plan on behalf of its members.
The bill would define "packaging product" broadly to include any
product or material designed and used for the containment, protection,
handling, delivery, or presentation of another product, whether
constituted of paper, plastic, glass, metal, or any other material.
Similarly, the bill would define "paper product" to include any product
made primarily from wood pulp or other cellulosic fibers, with certain
limited exceptions. Section 15 of the bill would establish several
exemptions from the provisions of the bill, including for the packaging
of drugs, dietary supplements, medical devices, and cosmetics. Section
15 also contains an exemption for "small producers," as that term is
defined by the bill. Section 3 of the bill would establish a procedure to
determine who would be considered the producer of a given product,
based on who manufactures or publishes the product, who is owner or
licensee of the trademark under which the product is used or sold, and
other factors.
The bill would require each producer of a product covered under
the bill to join a PRO one year after the bill's enactment, unless the
producer opts to independently develop and implement a product
stewardship plan. The PRO would require the approval of the
Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), subject to certain
requirements enumerated in section 4 of the bill. The bill would
initially allow for the formation of only one PRO. However,
commencing January 1, 2029, producers would be authorized to apply
to the DEP for the formation of additional PROs. 2
The bill would require the PRO to prepare, no later than two years
after the bill's enactment, a needs assessment of the State's existing
recycling and solid waste regulations and infrastructure with regards to
paper and packaging products, which is designed to determine the
necessary steps and investments, in both the private and public sector,
needed to effectuate the requirements of the bill. The needs
assessment would be required to be updated every five years. The bill
would permit the PRO to contract with a DEP-approved third-party to
carry out the needs assessment. Section 5 of the bill would establish
various additional requirements for the scope and content of the needs
assessment.
Section 6 of the bill would establish certain source reduction and
recyclability requirements for packaging products, which each
producer of these products would be required to achieve. For
example, it would require that, by two years after the approval of a
stewardship plan, the amount of single-use plastic packaging products
sold by a producer be reduced to 90 percent of the baseline value. This
requirement would gradually increase, culminating in the final
requirement that, by 10 years after the approval of a stewardship plan,
the amount of single-use plastic packaging products sold by a producer
be reduced to 50 percent of the baseline value. The bill would also
require that 10 percent of the reduction be achieved by shifting a single
use packaging product to a refillable or reusable product, or by
eliminating a plastic component. In addition, section 6 of the bill
would require that, by January 1, 2034, all packaging products sold by
the producer are either compostable or recyclable and that, by January
1, 2036, all packaging products sold by the producer are recycled at a
rate of at least 65 percent.
Section 7 of the bill would require the PRO (and any producers
who elect to not join the PRO) to submit a draft product stewardship
plan to the Advisory Council on Solid Waste Management established
pursuant to section 7 of P.L.1970, c.39 (C.13:1E-7). The PRO or
producer would be required to incorporate any comments to the draft
stewardship plan, and then submit a final plan to the DEP for approval.
Section 7 of the bill would establish various requirements for the
content of the stewardship plan, including requirements for the fees a
PRO would charge to its members, which would be required to be
correlated to the environmental burden associated with the production
and disposal of the member's products. Section 8 of the bill would
establish the process by which the DEP would review and approve the
product stewardship plans. Section 9 of the bill would establish the
process by which a service provider (i.e., entities that provide
collection, transportation, recycling, composting, or other waste-
reduction services for paper and packaging products) could seek to be
reimbursed by the PRO for its role in implementing the PRO's product
stewardship plan. 3
The bill would also establish the "Packaging and Paper Reduction
and Recycling Fund" in the Department of the Treasury. Moneys in
the fund would be used to (1) fund efforts to improve the State's
recycling and solid waste system, as identified in the Statewide needs
assessment, in the form of grants or low-interest loans issued by the
DEP, (2) to administer and enforce the provisions of the bill, or (3) to
otherwise implement an approved product stewardship plan. Each
PRO (and any producers not participating in a PRO) would be
assessed an annual surcharge by the Division of Taxation in the
Treasury, and the moneys from the surcharge would be placed in the
"Packaging and Paper Reduction and Recycling Fund." The total
Statewide surcharge would be the amount needed during the following
fiscal year to administer and enforce the bill's provisions and improve
the State's recycling and solid waste system in order to meet the source
reduction and other requirements established by section 6 of the bill, as
determined by the Statewide needs assessment, up to a maximum of
$120 million. The amount owed by each PRO or non-participating
producer would be a prorated share of this total amount.
Section 16 of the bill would establish an Office of Plastics and
Packaging Management in the DEP. The purpose of the office would
be to oversee the administration and enforcement of this bill, P.L.2020,
c.117 (C.13:1E-99.126 et al.), P.L.2021, c.391 (C.13:1E-99.135 et
seq.), and any other law dealing with pollution from plastic and other
packaging. The office would include an Inspector General, who
would, among other things, act as a liaison between the DEP, the
Department of Law and Public Safety, county prosecutor's offices, and
other local governments, regarding the enforcement of laws under the
purview of the office. Section 17 of the bill would establish a Toxic
Packaging Task Force, composed of the DEP commissioner or a
designee and six members of the public, appointed by the DEP
commissioner and the presiding officers of the Legislature. The task
force would be charged with recommending additional chemicals to
regulate under the "Toxic Packaging Reduction Act," P.L.1991, c.520
(C.13:1E-99.44 et seq.).
The bill would amend existing law to modify the membership of,
and add several duties regarding the implementation of the bill's
provisions to, the Advisory Council on Solid Waste Management,
including a duty to review product stewardship plans submitted by
PROs and non-participating producers. The revised membership of
the council would include the Commissioner of Environmental
Protection, the Commissioner of Health, and 15 members of the public
appointed by the Commissioner of Environmental Protection. The bill
would require the appointment of new members within 90 days after
the bill's enactment.
The bill would also amend the "Toxic Packaging Reduction Act"
to prohibit, commencing two years after the bill's enactment, the sale
of packaging, and products that are packaged in packaging, which 4
contains certain substances, including toxic metals, per- and
polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and vinyl chloride. Under current
law, only packaging that contains lead, mercury, cadmium, or
hexavalent chromium is restricted under the "Toxic Packaging
Reduction Act." In addition, under the bill, packaging containing any
quantity of lead, mercury, cadmium, or hexavalent chromium would
be prohibited from sale. Current law allows for the incidental presence
of these chemicals at certain concentrations. Persons who violate the
provisions of the "Toxic Packaging Reduction Act" are liable to civil
and civil administrative penalties of up to $7,500 per day of
noncompliance, for a first offense. Finally, section 21 of the bill
would establish certain exceptions to the bill’s provisions concerning
toxic substances in packaging, including for drugs, medical devices,
dietary supplements, and medical equipment.