Plastics Advisory Council

The “Get Past Plastic Law” went into effect in 2022, establishing within the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) the Plastics Advisory Council (PAC). The PAC is charged with monitoring the implementation of the Law and evaluate its effectiveness in reducing single-use plastics and plastic waste in the State. The PAC is required to report on the implementation and effectiveness of the law and provide recommendations for legislative or administrative action to improve the implementation or effectiveness of the Law. Additionally, the Law requires the PAC to study: the environmental and public health impacts of single-use plastics and micro-plastics; healthy and environmentally-friendly alternatives to single-use plastics; strategies and policies to increase the recyclability of plastics and reduce the amount of plastic entering the environment; the technological feasibility of increasing recycled content of consumer plastics and expanding the types of plastics that may be manufactured from recycled material; and ways to enhance the development and expansion of markets of post-consumer recycled plastic, including State and local purchasing and procurement practices.