Toxins and Waste Reduction

Reducing plastic, food, electronic and textile waste is a critical component to meeting New Jersey’s greenhouse gas emissions targets, as well as improving quality of life in communities by decreasing litter and air pollution. Access to information on hazardous conditions in our communities helps increase accountability and safety.

Primary Concerns:

Plastic production fuels the climate crisis with increased greenhouse gas emissions and damages local communities where plastic is made with toxic air and water pollution.
According to a report from the NJ Department of Environmental Protection, the average New Jersey resident wastes 325 pounds of food in 2017 and wasted food makes up to 22 percent of municipal solid waste.
In 2019 alone nearly seven million tons of e-waste was generated in the United States according to Earth911 and only 15 percent of e-waste was recycled.
The volume of textiles Americans sent to landfills and incinerators as waste is growing according to the US Environmental Protection Agency
Access to timely information on hazardous materials traveling through communities or contaminated sites under third party purview remains challenging
Although there are numerous sources of lead in the environment, research reveals that spent lead ammunition and lost fishing tackle are the most frequent causes of lead exposure and poisoning in wildlife

Not Started

In Progress

Completed

First 100 Days

Finalize and release the Food Waste Reduction Plan

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First 100 Days

Propose and adopt exemptions for small-scale food waste operations, such as community gardens, schools, and outdoor windrow composting systems.

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First 100 Days

Appoint members of the Food Waste Task Force, as required by P.L.2019, c.92

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First 100 Days

Name the Administrator and Chief Executive Officer of the newly created “Office of the Food Insecurity Advocate,” as required by P.L.2021, c.242.

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First 100 Days

Create non-lead zones in State Parks and Wildlife Management Areas used for hunting and fishing.

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First Year

Continue to advance the implementation of the Plastic Pollution Reduction Act by:

1. Ensuring robust education and enforcement of the law.
2. Convening appointed members of Plastics Advisory Council, as required by P.L.2020, c.117, and task it with developing an education campaign on the harms of textile waste and synthetic microfibers
3. Develop public process and feedback loop on the rollout of the law and Issue required report advising on the implementation of the law and recommendations

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First Year

Adopt a policy to support reusable items, such as coffee cups and food containers brought into a store or restaurant for the purpose of filling an order, are safe to use.

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First Year

Fund and implement education campaigns for schools to prevent food waste in cafeterias.

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First Year

Educate industry on donation liability laws and create better food donation networks.

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First Year

Encourage more co-digestion options for food waste for institutions of higher education.

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First Year

Promote alternatives to lead in hunting and fishing materials, including in publications and license documentation.

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First Term

Propose and adopt a tiered permitting systems for Class C recycling centers, to make acceptance of food waste more accessible.

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First Term

Launch pilot program to support small and medium sized repair businesses to address “throw-away” culture.

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First Term

Investigate “built in obsolescence” as a manufacturing strategy that harms consumers.

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First Term

Collaborate with other states in the region to create a standard for electronic-waste (e-waste) recycling that focuses on extended producer responsibility.

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First Term

Ensure that the State Emergency Response Commission (SERC) obtains and makes publically available critical information from the railroads that carry crude oil.

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First Term

Provide Local Emergency Planning Committees for New Jersey’s counties and municipalities to make up-to-date Emergency Response Plans accessible for public review, including posting online and ensure Plans are written to inform neighbors about what to do in case of an emergency.

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First Term

Amend Toxic Control Prevention Act (TCPA) program rules to require facilities to adopt safer alternatives to certain chemicals whenever feasible, including adopting Inherently Safer Technology (IST) and making IST reviews publicly available.

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First Term

Produce an annual report about safer chemicals and processes identified and adopted by facilities, as well as facilities that fail to do so.

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