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State bill aims to cut back on single-use plastic
Right to Refill Act allows customers to bring in own containers
– We’ve all been there. You look at a restaurant menu, your eyes are a little bigger than your stomach and you end up ordering too much.
A server, eyeing your half-full plate, approaches with the familiar phrase: “Would you like me to wrap that up for you?”
Often, restaurants come back with a plastic container filled with tomorrow’s lunch. The problem: all of that single-use plastic adds up, state lawmakers say.
That was the inspiration for new legislation proposed Monday that would allow New Yorkers to bring reusable containers to restaurants or other food establishments to pack up leftovers or take beverages to go.
The bill – dubbed the Right to Refill Act – was introduced by Sen. Jen Metzger, an Ulster County Democrat, and is expected to be introduced by Assemblywoman Pat Fahy, D-Albany. There is currently no law forbidding consumers from bringing their own boxes, cartons or cups to food establishments, but restaurants can ban the practice at will.
“The proliferation of single-use plastics poses a serious problem for New York’s environment,” the bill memorandum states. “Plastic can be found everywhere, and it’s time to reduce the amount of single-use plastics entering the environment.”
The measure would also require businesses to post signs notifying customers that they can bring their own containers to take out drinks or wrap up leftover food. The lawmakers plan to announce the legislation publicly at Albany’s 3Fish Cafe Tuesday afternoon.
California a similar law in July making it easier for consumers to bring their own containers to restaurants, so long as their boxes do not present a health hazard.
The latter point is the current concern of the New York State Restaurant Association, which on Monday said that while it supports measures to protect the environment, the proposal would place "additional burdens on restaurants that already struggle to navigate all the government red tape associated with hundreds of regulations."
"Any containers brought from home must be safe and pose no contamination risk," the group said in a statement. "We look forward to working with legislators on a solution that is good for the environment and restaurants alike.”
Right to Refill Act allows customers to bring in own containers
– We’ve all been there. You look at a restaurant menu, your eyes are a little bigger than your stomach and you end up ordering too much.
A server, eyeing your half-full plate, approaches with the familiar phrase: “Would you like me to wrap that up for you?”
Often, restaurants come back with a plastic container filled with tomorrow’s lunch. The problem: all of that single-use plastic adds up, state lawmakers say.
That was the inspiration for new legislation proposed Monday that would allow New Yorkers to bring reusable containers to restaurants or other food establishments to pack up leftovers or take beverages to go.
The bill – dubbed the Right to Refill Act – was introduced by Sen. Jen Metzger, an Ulster County Democrat, and is expected to be introduced by Assemblywoman Pat Fahy, D-Albany. There is currently no law forbidding consumers from bringing their own boxes, cartons or cups to food establishments, but restaurants can ban the practice at will.
“The proliferation of single-use plastics poses a serious problem for New York’s environment,” the bill memorandum states. “Plastic can be found everywhere, and it’s time to reduce the amount of single-use plastics entering the environment.”
The measure would also require businesses to post signs notifying customers that they can bring their own containers to take out drinks or wrap up leftover food. The lawmakers plan to announce the legislation publicly at Albany’s 3Fish Cafe Tuesday afternoon.
California a similar law in July making it easier for consumers to bring their own containers to restaurants, so long as their boxes do not present a health hazard.
The latter point is the current concern of the New York State Restaurant Association, which on Monday said that while it supports measures to protect the environment, the proposal would place "additional burdens on restaurants that already struggle to navigate all the government red tape associated with hundreds of regulations."
"Any containers brought from home must be safe and pose no contamination risk," the group said in a statement. "We look forward to working with legislators on a solution that is good for the environment and restaurants alike.”
