COUNTY — The Union County Board of County Commissioners is pleased to announce the expansion of the reusable bag recycling program, aimed at addressing the surplus of reusable bags in our communities. This program is in collaboration with the Union County Bureau of Recycling and Planning, the Town of Westfield, the Housing Authority of the City of Elizabeth (HACE), the City of Linden, the Town of Kenilworth, the Borough of New Providence, the City of Plainfield, the Town of Hillside, the City of Summit, and GOATote, Inc. to provide a solution to this issue.
With the implementation of New Jersey’s Get Past Plastic law, which prohibits businesses from providing single-use plastic bags, many individuals have transitioned to using reusable bags. However, some people occasionally forget to bring their reusable bags to stores, resulting in the purchase of additional bags. Over time, this has led to an accumulation of excess reusable bags in households. Furthermore, grocery delivery services often provide customers with reusable bags, contributing to the surplus.
At the same time, Food Pantries and Food Banks have expressed that they are having difficulty keeping up with the need for reusable bags when distributing groceries to their clients. Since these entities are no longer permitted to use single-use plastic bags when handing out food and supplies, they go through reusable bags very quickly and are frequently in need of more.
Residents from any municipality in Union County can bring their gently- used reusable bags to any of the participating locations. GOATote, Inc. will collect the bags, thoroughly clean and sanitize them, and deliver them to the Community Food Bank of New Jersey in Hillside. From there, the bags will be distributed to local Food Pantries in need. Locations are as follows: The Westfield Conservation Center at 1300 Lamberts Mill Road in Westfield – now, through October 20 from Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; from October 21 until December 22, Monday- Friday from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The primary goal of this program is to ensure that reusable bags are truly being reused and made available to those who genuinely need them. Please note that the program only accepts bags in usable condition. We kindly request excluding any ripped, damaged, or otherwise unusable bags when making your drop-off.
For the latest news and updates on all municipal and countywide recycling programs in Union County, download the free Recycle Coach app. More information is available at ucnj.org/recycling/recycle-coachapp.
1 T – 05/16/24, UC Hawk Fee: $183.60
