New Jersey Administrative Code
Title 18 - TREASURY - TAXATION
Chapter 38 - LITTER CONTROL FEE
Subchapter 3 - PRODUCTS SUBJECT TO THE FEE
Section 18:38-3.1 - Sales of litter-generating products

Universal Citation: NJ Admin Code 18:38-3.1

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 18, September 16, 2024

(a) Litter-generating products means the 15 categories of products listed in (b) below which meet any of the following conditions:

1. They are produced, distributed, or purchased in disposable containers, packages, or wrappings;

2. They are not usually sold in packages, containers or wrappings but are commonly discarded in public places; or

3. They are of an unsightly or unsanitary nature commonly thrown, dropped, discarded, placed, or deposited by a person on public property, or on private property not owned by that person.

(b) Products in the categories listed below qualify as litter-generating products provided they meet at least one of the conditions listed in (a) above.

1. Beer and other malt beverages means beer, lager beer, ale, stout, porter, and all similar fermented malt beverages having an alcoholic content of one-half of one percent or more by volume.

2. Cigarettes and tobacco products:
i. Cigarettes means any roll for smoking made wholly or in part of tobacco, or any other substance or substances other than tobacco, irrespective of size, shape, or flavoring, the wrapping or cover of which is made of paper or any substance or material, excepting tobacco.

ii. Tobacco products means all products containing tobacco except cigarettes, including, but not limited to, cigars, little cigars, cigarillos, chewing tobacco, pipe tobacco, smoking tobacco, and other products containing tobacco, including snuff.

3. Cleaning agents and toiletries:
i. Cleaning agents means all soaps, detergents, solvents, or other cleaning substances used for cleaning buildings, places, persons, animals, or other things.

ii. Toiletries means all substances such as soap, powder, cologne, perfume, cosmetics, toothpaste, etc., used in connection with personal dressing or grooming.

4. Distilled spirits means any beverage which contains alcohol obtained by distillation.

5. Food for human or pet consumption:
i. Food for human consumption means any substance, the chief general use of which is for human nourishment. It includes sales of all food by food manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers. Certain restaurants described in 18:38-5.1(b) are excluded as retailers of food.

ii. Food for pet consumption means any substance the chief general use of which is for pet nourishment.
(1) Pet means any domesticated animal which is not a productive animal. A productive animal is an animal which is raised for its meat, for the edible products which it produces, for its fur, wool, or skin, for breeding purposes, or for farm work. Examples of productive animals include, but are not limited to: dairy cows, poultry, swine, sheep, food fish, rabbits, and other game animals raised for meat or fur, chinchillas and minks, cows and bulls held for breeding purposes, stallions, brood mares, and plow horses.

6. Glass containers sold as such means articles made wholly or in substantial part of processed silicates which can be, or are, used to hold other things within themselves, and sold in an empty state for the purpose of resale or transfer in a filled or partially filled state.

7. Groceries means all nonperishable edible products, except drugs, sold by persons in a place of business engaged in selling food for off premises consumption. Food sold in such establishments and not included in this category would be included in the food for human or pet consumption category.

8. Metal containers sold as such means articles made wholly or in substantial part of materials such as iron, steel, tin, aluminum, copper, zinc, lead, silver, or like substances and any alloys thereof and which can be, or are, used to hold other things within themselves and sold in an empty state for the purpose of resale or transfer in a filled or partially filled state.

9. Motor vehicle tires means all tires, regardless of composition, designed for use on any vehicle propelled otherwise than by muscular power including motorcycles, motor driven lawn and garden equipment, construction equipment, and including trailers, semi-trailers, housetrailers, or any other type of vehicle drawn by a motor-driven vehicle.

10. Newsprint and magazine paper stock:
i. Newsprint means machine-finished paper made from ground wood and chemical pulp or recycled paper in whole or in part as commonly used to manufacture newspapers but does not mean newspapers in their published form.

ii. Magazine paper stock means the paper commonly used to manufacture periodical publications but does not include magazines in their published form.

11. Drugstore sundry products means all products, goods, or articles, except newspapers, magazines, and drugs, whether prescription or nonprescription, sold by persons in a place of business selling drugs at retail.
i. Drugs means substances or products appearing in the latest listing of United States Pharmacopoeia or National Formulary the chief general use of which is as medicine for treating disease, healing, or relieving pain, but excluding devices, apparatus, instruments, prostheses, and the like.

ii. Place of business for purposes of this category, means any location, department, or division even though it is part of a larger business physically, operationally, and in its books and records. Thus, a department store which consists of a drug department and a clothing department, each with its own space and having separate employees, cash registers, and accounting records, would not be subject to the litter control fee on sales of the clothing department merely because it was located in the same building under the same ownership as the drug department.

12. Paper products and household paper means all items of tangible personal property made or substantially derived from paper including all paper products for home or other personal use but does not include newspapers, magazines, books, and roll stock produced by paper product manufacturers, and wood pulp sold as such.
i. A newspaper is a printed publication issued at regular intervals, usually daily or weekly, and which contains news, editorial comment, feature articles, and advertisements.

ii. A magazine is a printed publication issued periodically, at least four times a year, and is usually bound with a paper cover and contains many and miscellaneous articles on a variety of topics.

iii. A book is a set of written or printed pages bound on one side and comprising a literary composition, academic, or authoritative work. Examples of a book include soft or hard covered novels, textbooks, reference resources, such as dictionaries or encyclopedias, and nonfiction volumes. The term book does not include pamphlets, brochures, flyers, periodicals, or advertising.

13. Plastic or fiber containers made of synthetic material and sold as such means articles which can be, or are, used to hold other things within themselves and which are made of synthetically produced ethylene derivatives, resins, waxes, adhesives, or polymers, or by synthesis of fiber materials with adhesives, polymers, waxes, resins, or other materials, but not including any container which is routinely reused, has a useful life of more than one year, and is ordinarily sold empty at retail. It includes containers made of paper, pasteboard, or cardboard in which the container material consists of fibrous substances synthesized with other materials. Synthetic material means that produced by synthesis which is the process of making or building up by a composition or union of simple parts or elements as distinguished from the process of extraction or refinement.

14. Soft drinks and carbonated waters means all beverages, whether carbonated or noncarbonated, except alcoholic beverages, including fruit juices, milk, carbonated water, and all mixtures or dilutions of nonalcoholic beverages, but does not include noncarbonated water.

15. Wine means all wines whether known as dry wines, sweet wines, still wines, or fortified wines, and any artificial or imitation wine or compound sold as wine, and any fruit juice containing one-half of one percent or more of alcohol by volume, and any other beverage containing alcohol produced by the fermentation of the natural sugar content of fruits or other agricultural products containing sugar, which beverage contains one-half of one percent or more of alcohol by volume, including vermouth and cider.

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