New Jersey is eyeing a number of bills to help reduce packaging waste.

The state Senate recently passed a bill, in a 21-15 vote, that would ban large online and major retailers in the state from shipping products in cardboard boxes larger than two times the volume of product being shipped.

The “right-size packaging” bill, S226, heads to the state Assembly and referred to its Commerce, Economic Development and Agriculture committee.

It’s a “common sense measure” for reducing packaging waste, Doug O’Malley, state director for Environment New Jersey, told Packaging Dive.

O’Malley added that the state has been considering many bills related to addressing plastic pollution and waste reduction. “I think it’s really telling that this bill is the first bill that was heard in the full Senate and passed,” he said. “And I think it just speaks to the fact that this is a pretty universal experience and kind of speaks to the public.”

Critics of the bill say it’s an attempt to micromanage logistics and that policymakers don’t have the necessary expertise to determine the most efficient way to ship goods.

Many retailers have said they’re already making changes to right-size packaging, with Walmart announcing last year that it has technology to enable custom-fit packages and reduce the need for filler material. Amazon says it uses machine-learning to implement right-size packages. The e-commerce giant also recently announced it was phasing out plastic air pillows, switching to 100% recycled filler paper instead.

New Jersey is contemplating a number of other bills related to extended producer responsibility (EPR) for packaging and plastic reduction, including one that would prohibit the sale, distribution and import of products marketed as recyclable, unless the Department of Environmental Protection deeds them to be widely recycled. Another bill would require plastic producers to reduce the quantity of plastic sold. Yet another would require producers to “adopt and implement packaging product stewardship plans.” The state is also considering prohibiting food-service businesses from providing single-use plastic utensils and condiments to customers, except by request.

These proposed bills aren’t the first time the state has tackled packaging waste. In 2022, New Jersey banned polystyrene packing peanuts and upped requirements for recycled materials to be used in various products.

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