Original Article By Alyssa Guzman At NYPost.com:
What’s a fry without ketchup?
Condiment lovers will now have to make a special request for the red sauce — as well as napkins and utensils — with their takeout order, thanks to the Big Apple’s newest crackdown on waste.
Starting Monday, “utensils, condiment packets, napkins, or extra containers” won’t be automatically included in takeout and delivery orders unless otherwise requested, the Department of Sanitation said in a press release.
“Delivery and courier services may not provide these items unless such items are requested by the customer,” the press release said.
The new requirements stem from a “Skip the Stuff” law Mayor Eric Adams signed earlier this year. Bronx Councilwoman Marjorie Velázquez introduced the bill, highlighting that $40 billion of plastic utensils are discarded in the US every day, according to the official Council transcript.
“This bill aims to reduce the amount of unnecessary plastics and other items that food establishments give to customers. In the US, over 100 million plastic utensils are used daily and some analysts estimate that Americans waste $40 billion,” Velázquez said in January.
“While many of us try to recycle or save these items for the future, most of them end up in landfills where they can enter our water system and harm our ecosystem. Reducing this waste will hopefully help our environment at no cost to businesses, consumers or our city.”
The Council’s Committee on Consumer and Worker Protection found in a December report that more than 320 million tons of plastic are used each year, with 95% of it being single-use. The committee also found that only 14% of those single-use plastics are recycled.
“In the United States, over 100 million plastic utensils are used daily and some analysts estimate the U.S. wastes 40 billion plastic utensils per year,” the report said.
Adams signed the bill into law in February to “help us secure a sustainable future by reducing plastic that ends up in our landfills.”
“[The bill] allows New Yorkers to ‘Skip the Stuff’ when ordering take-out or delivery, preventing unused plastic from ending up in our landfills, and making our city greener for generations to come,” he said at the time.
If Big Apple businesses are found in violation of the rule, they will be charged $50 for the first offense, $150 for the second and $250 for three offenses and higher starting July 1, 2024. Eateries will fall under a “warning period” through June 30, 2024.
Restaurants will have to rely on delivery services to let them know if a customer requests these items.
Self-service stations inside restaurants will not be affected by these new rules.
Neighboring state, New Jersey, is considering a similar ban to the Big Apple, according to the Staten Island Advance.
Los Angeles County enacted a similar law in May, requiring “all food-service containers, cups, dishes and cutlery distributed by restaurants and food facilities in unincorporated areas be recyclable or compostable,” a press release said.
It also requires dining room service for dine-in customers use “reusable food service ware.”
New York State has also banned plastic bags and polystyrene food containers since 2020.
