NEW YORK — In New York City, customers should be very careful when placing their food delivery orders.
On Thursday, the New York City Council voted in favor of the bill “Skip the Stuff“(Skip Things), which would prohibit takeout and delivery services from providing plastic utensils, condiments, or napkins unless explicitly requested by the customer.
The primary sponsor of the bill is Council Member Marjorie Velazquez and the primary co-sponsor is Council Member Erik Bottcher. The bill first made its rounds when it was introduced to the New York City Council on December 12, 2022.
Dozens of residents and advocates attended the hearing last month to make their voices heard in support of the bill. The overall goal of the Skip the Stuff bill is to help ensure that consumers are not reliant on single-use plastics for every takeout order.
Passage of Skip the Stuff is intended to greatly reduce the amount of disposable plastic sent to New York’s landfills and incinerators. New York City spends at least $42 million per year in waste management fees just for single-use disposable food.
Additionally, increased use of delivery apps and the number of takeout orders have more than doubled since the onset of COVID-19, exacerbating the amount of waste produced.
“The bill is a huge victory because it will result in the reduction of single-use, disposable plastics that are made from climate-destroying fossil fuels,” said Eric A. Goldstein, senior attorney and environmental director for the City of New York at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council). “It’s also going to save restaurants money on unnecessary single-use materials.”
Cost savings for New York City restaurants is another focus of the legislation. Restaurants in the US spend $19 billion per year on takeout food utensils such as utensils, bowls, cups, etc., while approximately 100 million plastic utensils are used and discarded every day across the country, from according to the NRDC.
“Billions of pounds of plastic cover 40% of our ocean surface and we are contributing to that,” said Council Member Erik Bottcher. “That is why I am so proud to be one of the main co-sponsors of the Skip the Stuff Legislation. Thank you to President Velázquez for sponsoring this bill and holding this important hearing. I’m also grateful to the incredible advocates and organizations like Reusable NYC who work on this issue every day.”
The bill also includes protections for restaurants using third-party food delivery providers, warnings for first-time violations, and education requirements to inform businesses and consumers about the new rules.
“About 20,000 tons of non-recyclable plastic food utensils are thrown away each year in New York City, ending up in landfills and incinerators that are bad for the environment,” added Raine Manley, Reusable NYC Coalition Member and Director regional digital campaigns at NRDC. “When Mayor Adams signed this law, this legislation will mean no more unwanted plastic forks, piles of napkins and ketchup packets piling up in the kitchen drawers of New Yorkers across the city.”
