Mayor Ravi Bhalla and the City of Hoboken Green Team will give away FREE reusable bags at the following events this holiday season:
• December 19 at 5pm: Bingo Night at Multi-Service Center, 124 Grand St.
• December 19 at 12pm: Fox Hill Gardens Christmas luncheon, 311 13th St.
• December 20 at 12pm: Adams Gardens Christmas luncheon, 220 Adams St.
• December 21 at 12pm: Monroe Gardens Christmas luncheon, 221 Jackson St.
The first phase of the bag giveaway is aimed at providing reusable bags for the senior population. Additional reusable bag giveaway events will be announced in January, which include partnerships with Hoboken schools. The reusable bag giveaways are aimed to encourage local residents to help Hoboken’s local environment by bringing reusable bags for all shopping trips, including grocery shopping and daily use.
Mayor Bhalla, the City Council and Hoboken Green Team, led by Councilman Jim Doyle, initiated the single use carry-out plastic bag ban set to take effect on January 22, 2019. On this date, retail and food establishments will no longer be permitted to provide single use plastic carry-out bags to customers. Instead, retail and food establishments should make paper bags available to customers for a fee of 10-25 cents per bag while encouraging customers to bring their own reusable bags.
The plastic bag ban was adopted to help reduce Hoboken’s production of plastic bag waste and impact to the local environment and Hudson River. On average, an individual uses 500 single-use plastic bags each year. 80% of the plastic and trash in the oceans comes from the land. Hoboken and Jersey City are the first two municipalities in Hudson County to introduce a plastic bag ban, and two of only twelve municipalities in New Jersey. Attached is an FAQ on the plastic bag ban.
The City will increase community education efforts as the bag ban goes into effect and is forming a working group of retailers and Green Team members to help. Those interested in joining the working group should email dcalamoneri@hobokennj.gov.
Learn more about the plastic bag ban at www.hobokennj.gov/plasticbags and learn more about the Hoboken Green Team at www.hobokennj.gov/greenteam.
