New Jersey Law Requires Customers to Request Plastic Cutlery for Takeaway

Governor Phil Murphy signed the "Skip the Stuff" law in January 2026, and it took effect on August 1, 2026. The state legislation bans restaurants, cafés, food trucks, drive‑ins and delivery services from automatically providing disposable plastic cutlery, straws or spice packets with take‑away orders. Customers must explicitly request these items, and online ordering platforms must default to omitting them unless the patron selects the option.

The measure expands New Jersey’s earlier waste‑reduction actions, which included bans on single‑use plastic bags and polystyrene containers in 2022 and restrictions on plastic straws beginning in 2021. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection says the goal is to cut waste by supplying only what diners actually need.