Oroho unfair tax bill passes state Senate

TRENTON — The New Jersey Senate has passed Senator Steven Oroho’s bill to protect box manufacturers from paying unfair user fees by modifying the definition of “litter generating products” under the Clean Communities Program Act to exclude corrugated containers.
Corrugated containers are fiberboard boxes often used for shipping merchandise, or as pop-up product displays in grocery and retail stores. 47 percent of all corrugated containers are made of recyclable materials. More than 92 percent are recovered and reprocessed into fresh packaging by the very manufacturers who initially sold the products.
“New Jersey box manufacturers are generating local jobs and economic revenue – not litter,” Senator Oroho (R-24) said. “Virtually every corrugated container manufacturer in New Jersey operates in another state as well. Failing to correct this oversight in tax law will put the positive impact they have had on protecting our environment and stimulating the state’s economy at risk.”
Senator Oroho drafted S-487 after a box maker in his district, Sutherland Packaging, reported being required to pay a user fee for manufacturing a “litter generating product,” despite the fact that corrugated containers are often recycled or made from recyclable materials.
“Corrugated containers clearly do not contribute to the state’s ongoing litter problem, but because they are not specifically excluded from the Clean Communities Program Act, box makers are still required to pay burdensome user fees,” Senator Oroho added. “We cannot allow these environmentally-conscious business owners to continue to be penalized because of a misinterpretation in state law.”
Senator Oroho’s bill would modify the definition of “litter-generating products” under the Clean Communities Program Act to exclude corrugated containers. This would protect box makers in New Jersey from paying the user fees imposed on businesses who manufacture commonly-littered items, such as glass containers, paper products and disposable packaging.