NJ lawmakers aim for next plastic ban: single-use utensils
Plastic utensils and condiments would still be available, but only if you ask.
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New Jersey lawmakers are looking to enact their next plastic ban - single-use utensils.
A bill that would prohibit food service businesses from freely dispensing single-use utensils and condiments except by customer request, was advanced by the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee on Monday in an 8-3 vote.
That means businesses would need to provide eat-in customers with washable, reusable utensils unless a customer specifically requests otherwise, according to the bill.
Customers ordering takeout in person, over the phone or online, will need to remember to request utensils with their order.
Public and nonpublic schools offering K-12 education, health care facilities and prisons would be exempt from the provisions.
One year after the bill's effective date, businesses would also be prohibited from providing bundled utensil or condiment packages, according to the legislation.
Business violating the bill's provisions would receive a warning for the first offense, a $1,000 fine for the second offense and a $2,500 fine for the third and each subsequent offense.
Any money collected from penalties imposed by this bill would go toward the Clean Communities Program Fund, which finances litter pickup and removal programs around the state.
The bill would also require the Department of Environmental Protection to create a 180-day education campaign about the benefits of reducing the amount of single-use utensils and condiments offered without necessity.
The state ban of the use of disposable plastic bags and Styrofoam food service products went into effect in May 2022.
