Grabbing takeout food any time soon?
You may be out of luck on the plastic fork, spoon and knife front if one state bill in New Jersey becomes law.
Plastic utensils for takeout orders could become a thing of the past — or at least severely restricted.
Democratic state assembly member Dr. Herb Conaway, the bill’s sponsor, said the Garden State should get harmful plastics out of landfills and out of the environment, according to News 12 in New Jersey.
While the state already has a strict plastic bag ban, the bill would prevent businesses from handing out single-use plastic utensils automatically to customers.
The bill “prohibits food service businesses from providing single-use plastic utensils and condiments to customers, except upon request, and requires certain food service businesses to provide reusable, washable utensils to customers eating on site,” a synopsis of the bill says on the New Jersey State legislature’s website.
The bill was introduced last month, on March 23, 2023.
The bill would urge all food establishments to find eco-friendly alternatives, according to New Jersey Spotlight News.
Violations would include a $1,000 fine for the first offense — and up to $5,000 for the third offense, the same outlet noted.
Businesses with in-restaurant seating for 50 or more people would need to provide cutlery for dine-in customers, the bill says.
There is a very broad definition of “food service business” in the bill — including restaurants, food trucks, cafeterias, grocery stores and convenience stores, and other places where people get food for take-out or dine-in, according to NJ Patch.
The bill would apply to food served at schools, sports arenas, entertainment venues and even hospitals as well.
The bill was referred to the Assembly’s Environment and Solid Waste Committee.
Fox News Digital reached out to the legislator for comment.
Said a New Jersey native who today runs her own food and hospitality business, “If the plastic forks and spoons are recyclable, why don’t they explain that those can be put into recycle bins? We need to encourage that.”
She added, “Our government should be more active in the recycling of products.”
She also told Fox News Digital with some frustration, “They don’t live in the real world of everyday people.”
Wrote one person in a public forum, commenting on the potential legislation, “Absolutely ridiculous. Stop the nonsense and this complete waste of taxpayer dollars. Legal citizens of New Jersey should call out and reject this useless legislation.”
The bill also says, in part, “‘Single-use plastic utensils or condiments’ means utensils or condiment packets or packages which are composed of conventional plastics and are designed to be discarded, by the consumer, after a single use.”.
It also says, “‘Utensil’ means an instrument, including, but not limited to, a knife, fork, or spoon, which is commonly used by humans to eat meals served thereto by a food service business.”
Also present in the bill is this language: “No food service business operating in the State [of New Jersey] shall provide single-use plastic utensils or condiments to any customer, except upon, and in accordance with, the express request of that customer.”
The section goes on, “The provisions of this paragraph shall be applicable regardless of whether a customer is receiving meals from the food service business on an eat-in, take-out, drive-thru or delivery basis, and regardless of whether the customer’s meal order is placed in person, over the phone, online or using other available means or methods.”
As controversial as the bill may seem, this is hardly the first time such an issue has come up.
A beach town in California several years ago kicked its plastic habit by banning straws and cutlery made from the substance.
The Malibu City Council voted in support of the ban Monday over concerns about the environment and dirtying its famous, picturesque beaches, Fox News Digital reported earlier.
That bill, taking effect in June 2018, added to material bans that were already in place in Malibu, such as plastic bags and foam containers.
“Ocean, beaches and natural surroundings are a central part of life in Malibu,” Mayor Rick Mullen said in a news release in support of the ban at the time.