By Stephen Appezzato
A grassroots movement to reduce plastic waste is gaining traction in the Two River area, with restaurants urged to only provide single-use utensils and sauce packets upon request.
The campaign, Skip the Stuff, is part of a nationwide call to action for local and state governments to pass laws that curtail plastic food waste.
“Forty billion single-use utensils are discarded yearly in the United States alone,” said Marta Young, a Lincroft resident and zero waste specialist at Clean Water Action. “Most of those have never been used.” Over the past few months, Young has attended borough meetings around Monmouth County to urge officials to consider utensil laws. So far, her message has been fairly well-received.
In March, the Borough of Red Bank was the first in the area to pass a Skip the Stuff-inspired law prohibiting restaurants from providing plastic utensils, sauce packets and napkins unless requested. When the law took effect on Earth Day, a grace period ending July 1 began. After that date, businesses can be penalized for violating the ordinance. That same month, the Borough of Garwood in Union County followed a similar path.
In Atlantic Highlands, an unenforceable resolution was passed in May supporting the movement. At the time, Mayor Lori Hohenleitner explained that the borough didn’t want to demand these changes from businesses on short notice, but the council would focus on educating the public and working with local restaurants to support Skip the Stuff. “I think our town does a very good job right now, so this is just trying to improve where we can to protect our environment,” Hohenleitner said during the resolution passing.
Young calls Skip the Stuff a “triple win” for the environment, consumers and businesses.
“You and I who go to restaurants don’t need to come home and find a handful of plastic, flimsy silverware that we don’t want, and we end up throwing in our junk drawer,” she said. “Restaurants (also) save a lot of money by not needing to buy unnecessary plastic and throwaway items,” while less waste is introduced to the environment.
Last week, Young visited Fair Haven and pitched the ordinance to the borough council which seemed open-minded. Now, following a similar pitch, the Borough of Monmouth Beach is weighing a law. The council introduced a plastic utensil ordinance May 28, and borough officials will hear the law and vote on it at the June 18 meeting. Within the proposed law, businesses that break the rules could face $100, $200 and $500 fines, depending on the number of infractions they commit.
“It’s a bipartisan win-win for everybody,” Young said. “Once they understand how much of a true triple win this is for people, there’s not much pushback,” she added.
The Skip the Stuff movement is not limited to Monmouth County but is part of a national effort to convince cities and states to put utensil laws on the books. Notably, Washington state established a plastic food accessory law in 2022, with New York City following in 2023, prompting Clean Water Action to lead a campaign in New Jersey. Currently, Hoboken is set to vote on its utensil ordinance June 5.
Alongside working with boroughs, Young is collaborating with state Sen. Bob Smith (D-17) to advance a plastic utensil state law (S3195) which is in committee. Last year a similar law was introduced in New Jersey but was never signed. Hoping to gain support for the new law, Young realized “that it would work well if we went town to town,” having local governments show support.
It’s a process, even on the local level, but “it’s snowballing and it’s very exciting,” Young said, adding the movement is popular among local green teams and environmental groups.
Skip the Stuff resembles New Jersey’s single-use plastic bag ban movement. The ban took effect in 2022. Before Gov. Phil Murphy signed the statewide bag ban in 2020, many towns across the state adopted bag ban ordinances to prohibit retail and food stores from providing single-use plastic carryout bags and polystyrene foam food service products, spurring support among legislators.
Looking forward, S3195 is up for discussion in the state Senate June 10 and Young is also optimistic more Jersey Shore towns will adopt Skip the Stuff laws this summer, when food takeout businesses are at peak popularity.
The article originally appeared in the June 6 – June 12, 2024 print edition of The Two River Times.
