TRENTON, N.J. – At Monday’s joint hearing of the Senate and Assembly Environment Committee, several expert witnesses testified on strategies to reduce and eliminate plastics pollution.
In a line of questioning from Assemblyman Michael Inganamort, Judith Enck, president of Beyond Plastics and a former EPA regional administrator under President Obama, said, “We have tried plastics recycling for decades and it just doesn’t work.”
Inganamort asked Enck if there is a scenario where New Jersey can successfully recycle plastic in New Jersey, to which Enck responded no.
“On Earth Day, I want to remind New Jerseyans to practice the three R’s – reduce, reuse, and recycle,” said Inganamort (R-Morris). “Each of these strategies is important to reduce pollution, plastic or otherwise. If we give up on recycling plastic because it is hard, and instead ban more consumer products, we’re not sustainably solving the problem in the short- or long-term. New Jersey is the Innovation State. Let’s maximize our reuse of existing plastics.”
Listen here.