New State Law Aims to Cut Down Use of Single Use Food Service Items

Restaurants in Washington will no longer include single-use food service items like utensils, condiments and straws with food orders under a new law taking effect January 1.

The law is intended to cut down on waste and litter by banning packaged bundles of single-use items, although customers can still request individual items such as lids, forks and ketchup packets.

All three 12th District state lawmakers, who are Republicans, supported the legislation sponsored by Democrats this year that created the law.

The Washington state Department of Ecology says single-use food service wares are a major contaminant in the state’s recycling systems.

The state also enacted a ban on single-use plastic bags earlier this year.

Single-use food serviceware items covered by the new requirements include:

• Utensils (knives, forks, spoons, chopsticks)
• Cocktail picks, splash sticks, and stirrers
• Straws
• Condiment packets, sachets, or sauce cups
• Cold cup lids, except those provided at drive-through windows or events with over 2,500 people

Items not covered by the new law include:

• Plates, bowls, cups, and other products used to contain food or beverages
• Lids for hot beverages
• Wrappers for takeout food items
• Items provided by medical facilities

The three Republican 12th District lawmakers who voted in favor of the bill to create the new law are Senator Brad Hawkins, Representative Keith Goehner and Representative Mike Steele.

Other provisions in the law, which is a waste reduction legislative package, will be phased in over time.

They include:

• 2023: Require minimum recycled content in several types of single-use plastics, starting with trash bags and beverage bottles. In 2025, a minimum amount of recycled content will be required in plastic bottles used for household cleaners and personal care products. These requirements will be extended to plastic milk bottles and small plastic wine bottles in 2028.
• 2023 – 2024: Restrict the sale of specific types of expanded polystyrene (e.g., Styrofoam™) products, starting in 2023 with packing peanuts. The restrictions will apply to food service containers and recreational coolers beginning in 2024.
• 2024: State agencies may only buy plastic trash bags that meet the post-consumer recycled content requirements.
• 2028: Conduct a study of plastic resin market conditions, if funding is available.