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A5286
ASSEMBLY, No. 5286
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED JUNE 15, 2026
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman� LOUIS D. GREENWALD
District 6 (Burlington and Camden)
SYNOPSIS
���� Allows plastic recyclable material derived from
renewable biomass to meet postconsumer recycled content requirements for
containers and packaging products.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
An Act
concerning postconsumer recycled content in certain
containers and packaging products and amending P.L.2021, c.391.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� Section 1 of P.L.2021,
c.391 (C.13:1E-99.135) is amended to read as follows:
���� 1.��� As used in
[
this act
]
P.L.2021,
c.391 (C.13:1E-99.135 et seq.)
:
���� "Beverage" means any
of the following products if those products are in liquid, ready-to-drink form,
and are intended for human consumption: beer and other malt beverages; wine and
distilled spirit coolers; carbonated water, including soda and carbonated
mineral water; noncarbonated water, including noncarbonated mineral water;
carbonated soft drinks; noncarbonated soft drinks and sport drinks;
noncarbonated fruit drinks that contain any percentage of fruit juice; coffee
and tea drinks; carbonated fruit drinks; and vegetable juice.
���� "Commissioner" means
the Commissioner of Environmental Protection.
���� "Department" means
the Department of Environmental Protection.
���� "Food" means
articles used for food or drink for consumption by humans or other animals, and
articles used for components of any such article.
���� "Glass container"
means a container made of glass that is filled with a food or beverage.
���� "Hot fill process"
means a process to sterilize both a food product and its container during the
food packaging process, in which the food product is heated to a temperature
between 194 and 203 degrees Fahrenheit and then injected into the container.
���� "Licensee" means a
manufacturer or entity who licenses a brand and manufactures a product under
that brand.
���� "Manufacturer"
means: (1) a person that produces or generates a rigid plastic container, paper
carryout bag, plastic carryout bag, or plastic trash bag that does not contain
a product and that is sold or offered for sale in the State; (2) a person that
is the brand owner of a product that is sold or offered for sale in the State
and that is packaged in a rigid plastic container, plastic beverage container,
or glass container, unless the brand owner identifies a licensee who agrees to
accept responsibility under
[
this
act
]
P.L.2021,
c.391 (C.13:1E-99.135 et seq.)
and the licensee informs the department in
writing of the agreement; or (3) in the absence of a person meeting the
criteria in (1) or (2) of this definition over whom the State may exercise
jurisdiction, a person who imports or distributes a product into or within the
State that is sold or offered for sale in the State and that is packaged in a
rigid plastic container, plastic beverage container, or glass container.�
"Manufacturer" shall not include a person who, at a single physical
location, produces, packages, and sells a product directly to a consumer at
retail, which may include a grocery store, restaurant, bar, cafeteria, caf�,
food truck, food cart, or similar establishment.
���� "Paper carryout bag"
means a bag made of paper that is sold or provided by a store to a customer for
the purpose of containing, carrying, and transporting food, beverages, or
retail goods.
���� "Person" means an
individual, corporation, company, association, society, firm, partnership, or
joint stock company.
���� "Plastic" means a
synthetic material made from linking monomers through a chemical reaction to
create an organic polymer chain that can be molded or extruded at high heat
into various solid forms retaining their defined shapes during the life cycle
and after disposal.� "Plastic" shall not include material that is
designed to be composted in a municipal or industrial aerobic composting
facility and that is certified by a recognized third-party independent
verification body as meeting the standards therefor established by the American
Society for Testing and Materials in ASTM D6400 or ASTM D6868.
���� "Plastic beverage
container" means an individual, separate bottle, can, jar, carton, or
other container made of plastic that is hermetically sealed or made airtight
with a metal or plastic cap, and that contains a beverage.� "Plastic beverage
container" shall not include any label, cap, closure, or other item
affixed to the container.
���� "Plastic carryout
bag" means a bag made of plastic, of any thickness, whether woven or
nonwoven, that is sold or provided by a store to a customer for the purpose of
containing, carrying, and transporting food, beverages, or retail goods.
���� "Plastic trash bag"
means a bag that is made of plastic, is at least 0.70 mils thick, and is
designed and manufactured for use as a container to hold, store, or transport
materials to be discarded, composted, or recycled, and includes, but is not
limited to, a garbage bag, lawn or leaf bag, can-liner bag, kitchen bag, or
compactor bag.
���� "Postconsumer recycled
content" means a material or product that has completed its intended end
use and product life cycle, and which has been separated from the solid waste
stream for the purposes of collection and recycling.� "Postconsumer
recycled content" shall not include secondary waste material or materials
and by-products generated from, and commonly used within, an original
manufacturing and fabrication process.�
�Postconsumer recycled content�
shall include plastic recyclable material derived from renewable biomass, as that
term is defined pursuant to section 8101 of chapter 107 of Title 7 of the
United States Code (7 U.S.C. s.8101).�
���� "Rigid plastic
container" means a container made of plastic that has a relatively
inflexible finite shape or form, has a minimum capacity of eight fluid ounces
or its equivalent volume and a maximum capacity of five fluid gallons or its
equivalent volume, and is capable of maintaining its shape while empty or while
holding other products.
(cf: P.L.2021, c.391, s.1)
���� 2.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.
STATEMENT
���� This bill stipulates that the
definition of �postconsumer recycled content� under existing law includes
plastic recyclable material derived from renewable biomass.� Existing law
establishes postconsumer recycled content requirements for rigid plastic
containers, glass containers, paper and plastic carryout bags, and plastic
trash bags.
���� Under this bill, the
postconsumer recycled content could include plastic recyclable material derived
from renewable biomass.