FINAL REMINDER: PLASTIC BAG AND STYROFOAM BAN IN EFFECT MAY 4TH CRIME INCREASES AT THE PUMPS, REPAIR SHOPS, AND C-STORES VISA AND MASTERCARD RATE INCREASES NJGCA SCHOLARSHIP AWARD: APPLY TODAY! MARKETPLACE UPDATE FINAL REMINDER: PLASTIC BAG AND STYROFOAM BAN EFFECTIVE NEXT WEEK Next week is the start of the statewide plastic bag ban, and given the significance of this change and how it affects every retail business in this state, you want to be prepared, particularly with the supply chain issues we've all seen the last two years. As part of legislation that was passed and signed into law in November 2020, on May 4th (a week from today) a variety of restrictions will come into effect dealing with bags and Styrofoam products. All single-use plastic carryout bags will be banned at all retail stores in the state. Single-use paper bags will still be allowed, but only for convenience stores under 2,500 square feet and businesses that do not sell food. Paper bags are generally more expensive than plastic bags, and c-stores under 2,500 sq. ft. are free to choose not to provide them at all and instead ask customers to either go bagless or purchase a reusable carryout bag. Stores could also charge a small fee for a paper bag if they wished to. Reusable carryout bags are defined as a bag that "(1) is made of polypropylene, PET nonwoven fabric, nylon, cloth, hemp product, or other machine washable fabric; (2) has stitched handles; and (3) is designed and manufactured for multiple reuse." We encourage you to stock some of these bags for sale to customers. There are several small exemptions to the plastic bag ban: a bag used solely to contain uncooked meat or fish, a bag used to package loose items like fruit, nuts, coffee, candy, flowers, small hardware items, etc., a bag used to contain food sliced or prepared to order including soup or hot food, a newspaper bag. Also banned are most food packaging products made of expanded polystyrene foam, commonly known as Styrofoam. This includes drink cups and food containers. There are several exceptions: disposable long-handled foam soda spoons used for thick drinks, portion cups 2oz or less, trays for raw meat or fish, and food that was prepackaged by the manufacturer with Styrofoam. One benefit of this law is that once it goes into effect next week it totally overrides all local rules and ordinances covering these items, so if your local government had either prohibited paper bags or required your store to charge a fee for them, they will no longer be required to do so. Also, the penalty for violating any provision of this law is a warning for the first offense. The State has also set up a dedicated webpage for business owners covering these rules, which includes a list of vendors and distributors who sell approved reusable bags. CRIME INCREASES AT THE PUMPS, REPAIR SHOPS, AND C-STORES It has come to our attention that there has been an increase in crime on a few fronts that we need to warn you to be on the lookout for. First is a new method of fuel pump tampering similar to credit card skimming using pulsar manipulation devices. By installing this device inside gas pumps, criminals gain the ability to change the price of gas to as low as a penny a gallon using a remote. They then fill up their tanks and change the price back. Between credit card skimmers and now the emergence of this device, we again urge you to check your pumps every day. In the past, we have recommended using security tape to determine if gas dispensers have been tampered with. The tape can be placed on access hatches and doors to indicate if credit card skimming equipment has been inserted inside the gas dispenser. This tape can also be applied to the dispenser credit card reader or inside POS terminals to provide visual authentication that a 'skimmer overlay' is not present. There are several different types of this tape that can be used, some have serial numbers on them (to cut down on the possibility that someone will show up with the exact type of sticker and place over the one they've broken); while others have unique verbiage on them. If any equipment is tampered with, the sticker will show the verbiage or the serial number, indicating that a skimmer may have been installed. If you are not utilizing tape or some other mechanism to find skimmers you should be. If you inspect your pumps every day, then the most you will go is a 24 hour period with the skimmer undetected. This is an especially important precautionary measure if you have not upgraded your credit card readers to EMV at the pumps. Here are some links to different types of security tapes: https://bit.ly/3nquaOB https://seals.com/labelzon-with-no-residue/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIjJqZ9Nes9QIVmQaICR2gegBBEAAYASAAEgL-dPD_BwE https://www.cstore1.com/gas-pump-security-labels-50-ct-/12-0247/ https://www.intertronix.com/product-p/tcb-0803-500.htm In addition to this, we have seen reports from other states that there has been an increase in shoplifting in convenience stores, especially in urban areas. The police are not investigating them, and people are able to sell stolen products on Amazon and in flea markets. We have also heard of a major increase in car thefts across the state. People often leave key fobs in their vehicles, making them vulnerable to theft. Repair shop owners should be especially mindful of this. If you have experienced any of the above issues, please notify us right away so we can warn members. To get ahead of the issue, if you do not have a video security system in place, I urge you to contact our MBP Dan Goff at Able-Tech to go over options on upgrading your businesses security system. VISA AND MASTERCARD RATE INCREASES Rate increases for Visa and MasterCard went into effect Friday. Visa and MasterCard say the fees help cover costs related to innovation and preventing fraud, though most of the interchange fee, goes to banks issuing the cards. A much smaller slice goes to Visa and MasterCard solely for the use of their network to process the transaction. A judiciary hearing discussing credit card fees was just scheduled to address the issue of increasing fees, which we may need you to contact your legislators for in the future. You can read the letter sent from Congress to the credit card companies HERE. As you may recall, several years ago NJGCA, along with several of our allied retail groups, worked hard on legislation in Trenton that would have forced competition into the way credit card fees are set, ultimately lowering them across the board. Unfortunately, we were not successful as big banks came out of the woodwork to scare legislators away from acting on what would have been first in the nation model legislation. We remain hopeful, especially if there is movement elsewhere, to be able to take up this issue again. NJGCA SCHOLARSHIP AWARD Our scholarship application is now live and we are accepting both mailed and online applications. Last year, NJGCA awarded four scholarships to children of NJGCA members and the children of employees of NJGCA members. A total of $10,000 was awarded with $5000 being contributed thanks to the generosity of Utica Insurance. Utica Insurance is the insurance company that insures many NJGCA members. The contribution was arranged by NJGCA MBP Amato Agency. Once again Utica has contributed $5000 towards a scholarship that is to be awarded to a student attending an automotive technical school or studying automotive technology. The NJGCA Board of Directors has also approved additional awards. Each NJGCA member will be entitled to submit ONE application that will be reviewed by the scholarship committee. Applicants may be either the child of a member, or an employee, or the child of an employee that works for the NJGCA member. You can find both the mail-in application and the online application HERE. Do not forget to include the other documentation required (transcripts, essays, etc) to be considered. MARKETPLACE There isn't a lot to say on the current state of the marketplace, though I thought it may be important to update those of you who do not necessarily follow the trends. For those of you who may only be getting one load a week, you may be noticing giant differences in price from one load to the next. Its important for you to recognize that rack prices have been going up. They go up and down overnight and the differences we have seen have been anywhere from 5 to 25 cents every day. As always, we will continue to keep you updated on any big changes or disruptors that may be coming down the pike. Be Well - Sal Risalvato
Executive Director |
