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Joel Katz

Changes Being Considered Due to Unexpected Snag with NJ Bag Law

Author Joel Katz
LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 21: Food 4 Less grocery store general clerk Xochil Montenegro hands out a free reusable shopping bag, supplied by the California Grocers Association (CGA) and the City of Los Angeles, to a customer in observance of Earth Day, on the eve of Earth Day, April 21, 2008 in Los Angeles, California. During the two-day program, 50,000 bags are being handed out at about 40 grocery stores to encourage consumers to use reusable bags instead of disposable plastic or paper bags. The use of reusable bag has increased since a statewide plastic bag recycling law was enacted in July 2007 requiring grocers to provide in-store plastic bag recycling and to sell reusable shopping bags. Some communities have banned disposable plastic grocery bags. The free bags provided by the CGA and the city are made of 100% recycled water, soda and food containers. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)

Grocery shopping online has become an extremely popular thing in New Jersey. We have a variety of services to choose from. There’s Peapod, Amazon Prime Pantry, Hello Fresh, Fresh Direct, Instacart; the lists goes on and on as to the wide array of choices for home grocery delivery in the garden state.

If you use any of these services then you may realize the small problem that was inadvertently created by New Jersey lawmakers. Everyone is aware (and trying to get used to) the recent ban on single use grocery bags in New Jersey. Now lawmakers are scrambling to correct the problem.

Here’s the problem. Those of us who do our food purchases online are involuntarily collecting a large amount of the disposable bags that come with each order. This is an issue that was not considered by lawmakers when they voted to ban single use bags that went into effect back in early May of this year.

There has been much success related to the ban. Less plastic bags blowing all over the state and ending up in lakes and streams. You don’t see them flying across beaches or down highways either.

While we are all creating a place to keep all of those disposable bags our representatives are planning a hearing next month. The goal is to create legislation that will help solve this new issue.

There are a few ideas floating around. The first is to let grocery stores use paper bags, but only for deliveries. Waste would still be reduced because of the very small percentage of grocery purchases being delivered.

Another idea is to have the deliver companies use cardboard boxes like the ones offered at the big warehouse stores and some delivery companies are using already.

Perhaps the delivery services could collect and reuse the bags.

If you’ve stockpiled reusable bags you may want to drop them off at your area food bank.

10 New Jersey Universities Among Best in the Country

According to U.S. News & World Report, ten universities and colleges in New Jersey are among the best in the country with one ranked number one for the past 12 years.

Our family is going through the college decision making process for the second time, this time with two at once. My oldest made it easy because he knew exactly which university he wanted to attend. There was no comparing schools or long distance college visits. My twins are a bit different. Neither one of them has decided where they want to go, we’ve been on multiple long distance college visits, and they’ve just begun their senior year of high school.

Going through the U.S. News & World Report list of top universities and colleges in the country was very helpful. They examined fifteen hundred colleges and universities that offer bachelor’s degrees and conducted “17 measures of academic quality.”

U.S. News & World Report does a great job of breaking down each school by “rankings data and key characteristics about majors, campus life, costs of attending, and more.” The result of their study comes from years of research using both past and current data.

Some of the ranking factors were graduation and retention rates, social mobility, graduation rate performance, undergraduate academic reputation, and faculty resources. The faculty resources from last year were examined in the following categories… class size index, faculty compensation, percent full time and part time faculty with terminal degree in their field, percent faculty that is full time, and student faculty ratio.

The New Jersey colleges and universities that landed in the top one hundred on the list are Princeton, Rutgers-New Brunswick, Rutgers-Newark, Rutgers-Camden, Stevens Institute of Technology, New Jersey Institute of Technology,  Seton Hall University, Stockton University, Montclair State University, and Rowan University. One of them topped the list for the 12th year in a row. Here’s the run down of all the New Jersey schools that made the list and where they ranked in no particular order.

  • 97. New Jersey Institute of Technology

    New Jersey Institute of Technology

    MAHWAH, NEW JERSEY – AUGUST 12: General view of New Jersey Institute of Technology during the FC Internazionale women training session at New Jersey Institute of Technology on August 12, 2022 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Mattia Pistoia – Inter/Inter via Getty Images)

  • 55. Rutgers - New Brunswick

    rutgers

    PISCATAWAY, NJ – SEPTEMBER 10: Rutgers Scarlet Knights dance team members perform during the game against the Wagner Seahawks on September 10, 2022 at SHI Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

  • 194. (tie) Rowan University

    Rowan u

    GLASSBORO, NJ – MAY 06: Corey Clement, Running Back for the Philadelphia Eagles, deliveries the Commencement Address at Wackar Stadium, Rowan University during the 2018 Graduation Ceremony May 6, 2018 in Glassboro, New Jersey. (Photo by Bill McCay/Getty Images)

  • 137. Seton Hall University

    Seton hall mascot

    NEW YORK CITY, NY – MARCH 28: Seton Hall mascot after the WNIT Elite Eight basketball game between the Seton Hall Pirates and Columbia Lions on March 28, 2022 at Columbia University in New York, NY (Photo by John Jones/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

  • 115. Rutgers-Newark

    rutgers helmet

    PISCATAWAY, NJ – SEPTEMBER 10: Detail of a Rutgers Scarlet Knights helmet sits on the field before a college football game against the Wagner Seahawks at SHI Stadium on September 10, 2022 in Piscataway, New Jersey. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)

  • 182. Montclair State University

    Motclair state baseball team

    30 MAY 2000: Senior Marc Houser (2) of Montclair State University dives onto the pile after a victory against the University of St. Thomas during the Division III Men’s Baseball Championship held at Fox Cities Stadium in Grand Chute, WI. Montclair State defeated the University of St. Thomas in consecutive games 13-3 and 6-2 to win the double elimination national championship title. Allen Fredrickson/NCAA Photos via Getty Images

  • 1. Princeton

    Princeton university building

    PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY, UNITED STATES – 2015/08/01: Nassau Hall ivy, Princeton University Campus. (Photo by John Greim/LightRocket via Getty Images)

  • 83. (tie) Stevens Institute of Technology

    Stevens university ducks

    Jersey , United States – 8 June 2017; A general view of the Stevens Ducks pitch ahead of squad training at the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey, USA. (Photo By Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

  • 127. Rutgers-Camden

    Rutgers flag

    EAST HARTFORD, CT – MAY 28: A Rutgers Scarlet Knights fan waves a Rutgers flag following the NCAA Division I Mens Lacrosse Semifinals game between the Cornell Big Red and Rutgers Scarlet Knights on May 28, 2022, at Rentschler Field at Pratt & Whitney Stadium in East Hartford, Connecticut. The Big Red defeated the Scarlet Knights 17-10. (Photo by Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

  • 182. Stockton University

    Stockton University

    ATLANTIC CITY, NJ – JUNE 29: Stockton University’s new campus and dorm buildings are constructed along the boardwalk on June 29, 2018 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. In addition to this, two new casinos opened this week in the seaside resort, as residents seek an economic upswing. (Photo by Jessica Kourkounis/Getty Images)

Joel Katz is the Morning Show Personality, Assistant Program Director, Podcast Host, Voiceover artist, audio producer, and Digital Content Writer for Magic 98.3. Joel has been working in New Jersey radio since college and started at Magic in 2002 as the Morning Show Host, “I can’t think of another place where I’d fit more perfectly; it’s just a great company with awesome people.” Joel is married to Kathleen, his elementary school sweetheart (they were each other’s first dates at age 9), shares a birthday with his oldest son, Ty, and has twins, Kiera and Liam. Joel runs at least 3.1 miles every day and enjoys playing basketball, doing laundry, saving his turn signal for when he really needs it, kissing dogs through a fence, using coasters, making that cool noise by rubbing his fingers on balloons, and chasing after ping pong balls on a windy cruise ship.

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