New Jersey Plans Ban on Gum, Tea Bags, and Plastic Items

Outrage has erupted in New Jersey over plans to outlaw chewing gum under a new regulation that also targets tea bags, cutlery, and other everyday items. The proposed legislation, known as the Protecting Against Microplastics Act, was introduced by Democratic Assemblywomen Shama Haider and Margie Donlon. It sparked immediate fury because it threatens to eliminate these common goods from the Garden State entirely.

Haider and Donlon built their case on research showing that microplastics enter the human body within minutes of chewing gum. If the measure passes, three million dollars in taxpayer money will flow to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to enforce the restrictions. The crackdown would extend far beyond gum, hitting plastic plates, cutlery, food containers, cleaning supplies, and cosmetics as well.

While other states are wrestling with broader microplastic reduction goals, Haider's office noted this bill uniquely targets specific consumer products like gum. Fourteen other states, including California, New York, and Oregon, have voiced worry about the rapidly growing evidence linking microplastics to harm for both the environment and public health.

The law would operate in two distinct phases. First, chewing gum manufacturers must label their goods as containing microplastics for a two-year window. Once that period ends, any product still using the toxic material faces removal from shelves. The bill also sets steep penalties, fining up to $25,000 for black market gum sales. However, it carves out an exemption for products where trace amounts appear in packaging but were not intentionally added.

Haider insisted the goal isn't to permanently ban these items but to protect people. "This bill is focused entirely on public health," she stated. She hopes the initial labeling requirement gives manufacturers time to reformulate their recipes before a total sales prohibition takes hold. People unhappy with the proposal have already flooded social media platforms with their complaints.

One furious person wrote: 'With everything else going on, this is what we're focusing on.' Another asked: 'How about we work on actual problems?' Orville Morales, director of advocacy and health affairs at the New Jersey Dental Association, voiced his support of a reduction of microplastics in chewing gum but urged for more specificity in the proposed bill. He told NJ.com his agency will collaborate with lawmakers to refine some of its details.

A University of California, Los Angeles study found that a person consuming around 160 to 180 pieces of gums throughout one year may take in up to 30 million microplastic particles. An updated study one year later found that the intake might actually be up to 1,000 times higher, close to 30 million particles. A 2024 study from the University of California, Los Angeles tested 10 different gum brands and found that about 94 percent of microplastic was released within the first eight minutes of chewing.

The bill would also ban plastic cutlery, plates, cleaning products and cosmetics. There is still no scientific consensus on the exact human health implications of microplastic consumption but the particles have been found in organs, with some experts warning of DNA and lung damage. The Democratic proposal would further establish the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to analyze microplastic pollution in the air and establish a program to reduce the particles in the Garden State's 'air, water and soil' by using safer materials.

The bill was brought to the Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee, which can approve or amend it, in mid September. The committee's next public meeting is yet to be announced and the bill would still need to pass both houses of state Legislature and receive final approval from the governor.