#SkipTheStuff

It’s common practice for restaurants to provide single-use utensils, condiments, and napkins with your take out food. This happens whether you need this “stuff” or not. Much of it is produced and thrown-away without ever being used! Whether it is straws, ketchup and mustard packets, or other stuff, this is an unnecessary and wasteful practice that can be easily fixed with simple policies.

UPSTREAM, a US-based non-profit has created a simple toolkit to help communities across the United States pass #SkipTheStuff legislation in their area. It could even be replicated in other parts of the world and in places like schools and office buildings. The idea behind #SkipTheStuff is simple: Restaurants, food service providers, and delivery apps should only provide customers with what they request with their order.

In policy terms, disposable utensils, single-use condiments, straws, and napkins are collectively called “foodware accessories”. Here are some things to know about foodware accessories that highlight why the #SkipTheStuff Campaign is necessary and makes a lot of sense:

• 561 billion disposable foodware items get used every year in the US, amounting to almost 5 million tons of waste! (E. Moss, R. Grousset, The Dirty Truth about Disposable Foodware, The Overbrook Foundation – Feb. 2020)
• In the US we collectively use 36 billion disposable utensils every year. Laid end to end these could wrap around Earth’s equator 139 times. (Sietsema, Tom, “All my takeout has delivered a mountain of trash. So I asked experts how to minimize it,” Washington Post – Sept. 2020)
• Single use plastic utensils, straws, and condiment packets do not get recycled – for a variety of reasons. Some of these reasons include: 1. the item is too small to sort out in the sorting system, 2. the item may be contaminated with food, 3. the plastic type may not have value in the recycling marketplace, and 4. multi-layer pouches like condiment packets are too technically challenging to recycle because of how the various materials are combined to make the product.

Get familiar with the #SkipTheStuff campaign by learning how ReusableLA turned it into local policy. ReusableLA is a coalition of organizations working to create a culture of reusables in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles City Councilmembers voted unanimously in favor of amending the Plastic Straws-on-Request Ordinance to include disposable foodware accessories. The updated ordinance, also known as #SkiptheStuff, now requires foodware accessories, including single-use utensils, straws, condiments, and napkins, to be available only upon request from food vendors and third-party delivery apps.

ReusableLA started by working to amend the Straws-on-Request Ordinance that already existed in the City of Los Angeles. They took many meetings with LA City Council Members, garnered support from local restaurants, and educated the general public about #SkipTheStuff, which helped get over 3,500 signatures on a petition to support the campaign! Here’s the  timeline for how #SkipTheStuff happened in LA City.

You can use the definitions below to help you understand the terms used in the timeline.

Also check out this page on Upstream’s website and scroll down to the map to see locations around the US where people are working to pass #SkipTheStuff legislation. Once you’ve looked through these resources, answer the questions below. If you want to join or start a #SkipTheStuff campaign in your area. Check out the What to Watch Out For and Tips sections below. 

Creating a local policy or ordinance can be a long process and can include some obstacles along the way. You may have many stakeholders, community members, and decision makers that support the #SkipTheStuff campaign, but you may also run into many who oppose campaigns such as this. Some restaurants may be afraid #SkipTheStuff may lead to bad customer service if they can’t provide stuff like single-use utensils automatically. The good news is, if customers need this stuff, they can get it upon request! If they don’t need it, then there is no need to create unnecessary waste.⁣

Creating a local policy or ordinance can be a long process and can include some obstacles along the way. You may have many stakeholders, community members, and decision makers that support the #SkipTheStuff campaign, but you may also run into many who oppose campaigns such as this. Some restaurants may be afraid #SkipTheStuff may lead to bad customer service if they can’t provide stuff like single-use utensils automatically. The good news is, if customers need this stuff, they can get it upon request! If they don’t need it, then there is no need to create unnecessary waste.⁣

• When talking with stakeholders and decision makers, let them know that restaurants may save money by only offering foodware accessories upon request. If restaurants are only giving out this stuff when a customer requests it, then they have the opportunity to reduce their expenses on purchasing mass quantities of the stuff in the first place.
• Be patient in the process to help your area #SkipTheStuff. We all want change to happen now, but it is important to remember that big changes can sometimes take a lot of time.
• As your strategy for the campaign begins to emerge, it is important to make sure everyone’s voice is heard in the process. You want to make sure you are talking with the people who this type of campaign may affect (i.e. small businesses, food vendors outside of restaurants, community members, etc.).

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