Bill Text: NJ A2794 | 2022-2023 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Prohibits use of paper receipts containing bisphenol-A or bisphenol-S; provides for phased-in prohibition on use of all paper receipts; authorizes continued use of electronic receipts.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-02-28 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee [A2794 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2022-A2794-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman HERB CONAWAY, JR.
District 7 (Burlington)
SYNOPSIS
Prohibits use of paper receipts containing bisphenol-A or bisphenol-S; provides for phased-in prohibition on use of all paper receipts; authorizes continued use of electronic receipts.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning paper receipts and supplementing Title 13 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the "Paper Receipt Reduction Act."
2. The Legislature finds and declares the following:
a. Although the rise of digital technologies in recent years and the COVID-19 pandemic have each contributed to a slight decline in the use of some paper products, global paper consumption continues to rise and now exceeds 400 metric tons per year, with 71 million metric tons of paper being consumed annually in the United States.
b. While paper receipts represent only a small fraction of the total amount of paper being consumed in the United States, paper receipts are not a necessary item, and the continued use of these receipts has significant negative impacts both on the environment and on public health.
c. According to a 2020 report by Green America, every year, the United States consumes more than three million trees and approximately nine billion gallons of water, creates approximately 300 million pounds of solid waste, and emits approximately five billion pounds of carbon dioxide in association with the production and use of paper receipts.
d. The amount of carbon dioxide annually emitted from the production of paper receipts is equal to the amount of greenhouse gasses emitted annually from over 400,000 cars.
e. An estimated 93 percent of paper receipts are also coated with bisphenol-A (BPA) or bisphenol-S (BPS), toxic chemicals that have been banned from use in various plastic products, such as children's toys and water bottles, due to their association with reproductive impairment, type 2 diabetes, thyroid conditions, endocrine system disruption, metabolic and neurological problems, cancer, and other health conditions.
f. Because BPA and BPS are added to receipt paper in their free form, without being bound to the paper or polymerized to stop transference, the chemicals can be easily transferred to the human body through a person's ordinary handling of the receipt paper. As a result, the ongoing use of paper receipts that are contaminated with BPA or BPS endangers the health of both consumers and the workers who handle these receipts on a regular basis.
g. Thermal paper receipts, which are are composed of more than one material, are nearly impossible to separate in the recycling process due to the risk of releasing BPA and BPS into the air.
h. The cost of thermal receipt paper has also continued to rise due to a shortage of leuco dye used in the paper. In 2019, the retail sector spent more than $312 million on thermal receipt paper alone, despite the fact that receipts are normally discarded by consumers.
i. In 2020, the retail pharmacy, CVS, announced that it would switch to the use of phenol-free paper receipts in all of its stores and would additionally increase the promotion of its digital receipt option. The company has reported that the increased use of digital receipts will save 49 million yards of receipt paper per year, or more than enough to circle the globe.
j. In order to protect the health and welfare of consumers and workers in the State against threats posed by the use of BPA and BPS in receipt paper, and in order to reduce, and ultimately eliminate, the negative impacts that receipt paper production and disposal have on the environment, it is both reasonable and necessary for New Jersey to require retailers and service providers in the State to immediately cease the use of receipt paper and other similar paper products containing BPA and BPS, and to phase out the use of all paper receipts within one year after the effective date of this act.
3. As used in this act:
"Business or banking record" means any document that is used to record a business or banking transaction. "Business or banking record" includes, but is not limited to, a receipt or other proof of purchase, as defined in section 2 of P.L.1982, c.29 (C.56:8-2.15), a credit, withdrawal, or deposit slip, or a record of a debit or credit card transaction.
"Consumer" means a person present in New Jersey who purchases merchandise at retail, and not for purposes of resale, or who purchases or otherwise receives a service from a service provider.
"Electronic receipt" means a receipt or other business or banking record that is provided to a consumer through email, text message, or other electronic or digital means, and which is not provided to the consumer in a hard copy, paper format.
"Retailer" means any person, including a product manufacturer or distributor, who engages in the sale of merchandise, at retail, to any person in the State.
"Service provider" means any person, public or private institution, agency, or business concern that lawfully provides a service to consumers in the State.
4. a. (1) Commencing on the effective date of this act, no retailer or service provider shall provide a consumer with, or shall use for any other purpose, a receipt or other business or banking record, or any associated coupon or advertisement, that is printed on paper to which bisphenol-A or bisphenol-S has been added during the manufacturing process.
(2) Commencing on the first day of the thirteenth month next following the effective date of this act, no retailer or service provider shall provide a consumer with, or shall use for any other purpose, a receipt or other business or banking record, or any associated coupon or advertisement, that is printed on paper.
(3) Nothing in this subsection shall be deemed to prohibit a retailer or service provider from providing a consumer with an electronic receipt.
b. Any retailer or service provider that violates the provisions of subsection a. of this section shall be subject to a civil penalty of not less than $250 nor more than $500 for each offense, to be collected in a civil action by summary proceeding under the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.), or in any case before a court of competent jurisdiction wherein injunctive relief has been requested. If the violation is of a continuing nature, each day during which the violation continues shall constitute an additional, separate, and distinct offense. The Superior Court and the municipal court shall have jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999" in connection with this act.
c. The Department of Environmental Protection, a county, a municipality, or any entity certified pursuant to the "County Environmental Health Act," P.L.1977, c.443 (C.26:3A2-21 et seq.), may institute a civil action for a civil penalty or injunctive relief to enforce the provisions of this act or prohibit and prevent a violation thereof, and the court may proceed in the action in a summary manner.
5. The Commissioner of Environmental Protection shall adopt rules and regulations, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this act.
6. This act shall take effect on the 45th day following the date of enactment, but the Commissioner of Environmental Protection may take anticipatory administrative action, in advance of the effective date, as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill would immediately prohibit the use, in the State, of potentially toxic paper receipts, and it would additionally phase-in a blanket prohibition on the use of all paper receipts in the State. Specifically, the bill would provide that: (1) as of the bill's effective date, a retailer or service provider will be prohibited from providing a consumer in the State with a business or banking record, including a receipt or other proof of purchase, a credit, deposit, or withdrawal slip, or a record of a debit or credit card transaction, or with any associated coupon or advertisement, that is printed on paper to which bisphenol-A (BPA) or bisphenol-S (BPS) has been added during the manufacturing process; and (2) commencing on the first day of the thirteenth month next following the bill's effective date, a retailer or service provider will be prohibited from providing a consumer in the State with a business or banking record, including a receipt or other proof of purchase, a credit, deposit, or withdrawal slip, or a record of a debit or credit card transaction, or with any associated coupon or advertisement, that is printed on paper. The bill would specify that nothing in its provisions may be deemed to prohibit a retailer or service provider from providing a consumer with an electronic receipt through email, text message, or other digital means.
A retailer or service provider that violates the bill's provisions would be subject to a civil penalty of $250 to $500, to be recovered in a summary proceeding. In the case of a continuing violation, each day on which the violation continues would constitute a separate and distinct offense. The bill also authorizes the Department of Environmental Protection, a county, a municipality, or any entity certified pursuant to the "County Environmental Health Act," P.L.1977, c.443 (C.26:3A2-21 et seq.), to institute a summary civil action for a civil penalty or injunctive relief to enforce the bill's provisions or prohibit and prevent a violation thereof.
The United States annually consumes more than three million trees and approximately nine billion gallons of water, creates approximately 300 million pounds of solid waste, and emits approximately five billion pounds of carbon dioxide (the same amount emitted from 400,000 cars) in the production and use of paper receipts. In addition, an estimated 93 percent of paper receipts are coated with BPA and BPS, which are toxic chemicals that have been banned from water bottles and other plastic products due to the chemicals' association with reproductive impairment, type 2 diabetes, thyroid conditions, endocrine system disruption, metabolic and neurological problems, cancer, and other health conditions. When present on receipts, these chemicals can enter a person's body simply through touch, and, as a result, the use of paper receipts containing these chemicals poses a major health risk, not only to consumers, but to the workers who regularly handle them. For these reasons, the bill's prohibitions are necessary both to protect the health and welfare of consumers and retail and service workers in the State and to reduce, and ultimately eliminate, the negative effects on the environment that result from paper receipt production and use.
