Plastic consumption in New Jersey spiked by nearly three times following the state’s implementation of a strict ban on single-use plastic shopping bags, a study found. 

“Following New Jersey’s ban of single-use bags, the shift from plastic film to alternative bags resulted in a nearly 3x increase in plastic consumption for bags,” Freedonia Custom Research (FCR), a business research division for MarketResearch.com, reported in a study published this month. 

New Jersey implemented a ban on single-use plastic bags in 2022, the strictest ban on bags in the nation at the time, billing it as an effort to cut back on the plastic one-use bags piling up in landfills. 

“Plastic bags are one of the most problematic forms of garbage, leading to millions of discarded bags that stream annually into our landfills, rivers and oceans,” Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy said after signing legislation in 2020 that authorized the bag ban. “With today’s historic bill signing, we are addressing the problem of plastic pollution head-on with solutions that will help mitigate climate change and strengthen our environment for future generations.”  

“[Six times] more woven and non-woven polypropylene plastic was consumed to produce the reusable bags sold to consumers as an alternative. Most of these alternative bags are made with non-woven polypropylene, which is not widely recycled in the United States and does not typically contain any post-consumer recycled materials. This shift in material also resulted in a notable environmental impact, with the increased consumption of polypropylene bags contributing to a 500% increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared to non-woven polypropylene bag production in 2015,” the study reported. 

A man carries goods in plastic bags outside a department store. (Romeo Gacad/AFP via Getty Images)

In order to have a positive impact on the environment and the  state’s plastic consumption, researchers found shoppers would have to reuse the bags a minimum of 16 times. 

Reusable bags have also resulted in windfall profits for retailers since the ban took effect, with the researchers finding the average retailer could make $200,000 annually at a single location.

Fox News Digital reached out to Gov. Murphy’s office for comment on the study, but did not receive a response by time of publication.

New Jersey is just one of a handful of states that have implemented plastic bag bans in an effort to stymie plastic consumption and benefit the environment. States such as Vermont, Oregon, California and others have their own versions of bans on single-use plastic bags.