TRENTON, NJ — Starting today, August 1, 2026, restaurants, cafés, food trucks, and other food service businesses across New Jersey are no longer allowed to automatically hand out single-use plastic utensils, napkins, and condiment packets with orders — customers will now have to specifically ask for them.
The law, known as the “Skip the Stuff” law (S3195), was signed in January by outgoing Governor Phil Murphy, and applies to dine-in, takeout, delivery, and drive-thru orders at restaurants, cafés, food trucks, vendor stations, and cafeterias.
What’s Changing
For takeout or delivery orders, single-use utensils, napkins, and condiment packets can only be provided if the customer specifically requests them — whether ordering in person, by phone, online, or through delivery apps like DoorDash or Uber Eats. Online ordering platforms must now default to “no utensils or condiments,” meaning customers will have to manually add them if they want them.
The law also affects dine-in service — any restaurant with table service and seating for 10 or more customers must provide real, washable utensils for guests eating on-site, instead of disposable plastic forks and knives.
Casual dining restaurants, like Applebee’s, must also limit handing out utensils unless requested, but may still offer them at self-serve stations.
Who’s Exempt
K-12 schools, licensed health care facilities, and county and state correctional facilities are exempt from the law. Restaurants located within food courts have an extension until August 2028.
What’s Next
Starting August 1, 2027, the law will further prohibit providing “bundled” packs containing multiple types of single-use utensils or condiments — each item will need to be requested individually, except at self-serve stations that dispense individual items.
For violations, a first offense results only in a warning, while a second violation carries a $100 fine, and each subsequent violation carries a $250 fine.
With this law, New Jersey joins California, Washington, and New York City, which have similar regulations, and builds on the state’s earlier 2022 ban on single-use plastic bags and polystyrene foam, as well as a 2021 rule requiring plastic straws to be provided only upon request. Environmentalists have called this one of the strongest laws of its kind in the country.
Source: NJ Senate Bill S3195, signed by Governor Phil Murphy.