Officials shake up customer dining experience with new ban on common restaurant practice: 'It's ridiculous'

Outgoing New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill into law "banning" a ubiquitous form of single-use plastic, NJ.com reported.

Many people have glove boxes, junk drawers, or other clutter chokepoints overflowing with ketchup packets and plastic utensils, particularly after food delivery apps became common.

Bill S3195, colloquially known as a "Skip the Stuff" law, is similar to a New York City ordinance passed in 2023, in which restaurants cannot provide single-use cutlery unless the customer requests it.

Although "Skip the Stuff" measures are often called "bans," they don't prohibit establishments from offering plastic forks, plastic spoons, condiment packets, or other items; they merely stipulate that they won't be provided by default.

Exceptions for schools, jails, and health care facilities were written into the bill. 

Critics of the legislation included Republican state Sen. Michael Testa, who asserted that New Jersey had bigger fish to fry.

"We're in a massive affordability crisis in New Jersey and we're worried about whether or not restaurants give out plastic utensils when you get takeout — it's ridiculous," Testa said, per NJ.com. 

According to NJ.com, lawmakers opposed to the measure argued that the decision should be left to New Jersey's lower-level municipalities. However, a Packaging Dive article about the bill noted that the state's smaller jurisdictions inspired it.

"New Jersey's law builds on local action; more than 60 towns throughout the state had already adopted such provisions, advocates reported," the outlet reported. Hoboken, a bustling small city directly across from Manhattan, adopted a similar measure in 2024.

While opponents of the law framed it as having minimal impact, data from Beyond Plastic suggested otherwise. The group noted that single-use plastic became more prevalent between 2019 and 2021.

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Approximately 60% of Americans order takeout weekly, and online ordering has grown 300% "faster than in-house dining," Beyond Plastic added.

In 2021, before New York City adopted a "Skip the Stuff" law, the New York League of Conservation Voters observed that a staggering estimated 100 million plastic forks and knives are discarded daily in the U.S., with their disposal alone costing $1 billion. 

Superfluous plastic cutlery is costly for restaurants, adding to expenses that are passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices. The NYLCV added that plastic utensils often can't be recycled.

Environment New Jersey director Doug O'Malley lauded the bill's passage, per Packaging Dive.

"This law ensures that people get what they ask for and will reduce plastic litter and single-use plastics that can't be recycled," O'Malley commented.

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