A bill has been passed in the New Jersey Senate which, if enacted, would restrict the size of shipping boxes that ‘certain retailers’ can use when shipping products to consumers.
The bill, S226, is sponsored by state senators Bob Smith and John McKeon, both Democrats. It passed in the New Jersey Senate, following a 21-15 vote on 28 June 2024.
S226 would ‘prohibit any large online retailer or major retailer in the State of New Jersey from utilising a shipping box to ship a product to a consumer that is greater than two times the volume of the product being shipped’.
‘Large online retailer’ in this context refers to any business that ‘sells goods over the internet, sends goods by mail or parcel delivery, and has annual gross sales equal to or greater than US$1 million in or into the state’, while ‘major retailer’ refers to any retail establishment that ‘occupies at least 75,000ft² and has 50 or more employees’.
Retailers that meet the aforementioned criteria would be subject to a civil penalty of ‘not less than $250 nor more than $500 for each offence’.
The acknowledges the growth in popularity of e-commerce and notes that ‘to reduce the packaging waste associated with online shopping, it is imperative that large online retailers and major retailers reduce the size of the shipping boxes utilised to ship their products to consumers’.
This is not the first time a bill has been introduced focused on reducing packaging waste in New Jersey. In January 2022, a bill, S2515, was signed into law by governor of New Jersey Phil Murphy banning the sale of polystyrene void-fill materials and requiring manufacturers to meet minimum recycled content standards for packaging products.
To pass into state law, the bill must be enacted by both the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey.
Following the undeniable success of IntraLogisteX 2024 in the UK, the exhibition is heading across the Atlantic later in the year, with IntraLogisteX USA taking place on 22-23 October 2024 at Miami Beach Convention Centre.
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Plus, the Supply Chain Excellence Awards are also heading stateside as Miami welcomes the very first Supply Chain Excellence Awards USA on 21 October 2024.
For more information about the awards, categories and how to enter, click here!
