Single-use foodware laws, city by city

Where accessories-on-request, polystyrene bans and reusables-for-dine-in are already the law, what each rule requires, and the two trackers that cover everywhere else.

Several of the practices PLEET scores are no longer optional in some places. The rules below are the ones most relevant to a restaurant, with the jurisdiction stated, because a foodware ordinance in one city says nothing about the next one over. Where a local law and PLEET's practices line up, a listing is also a way to show customers that you comply.

The California State Capitol in Sacramento.

Berkeley, California

The model ordinance. Dine-in must be served on reusables. Takeout disposables must be certified compostable by BPI. There is a $0.25 charge on each disposable cup, and accessories are only given on request. The city offers free technical help, and grants of up to $500 through StopWaste.

Los Angeles County (unincorporated areas and county facilities)

A 2022 ordinance: full-service restaurants must use reusables for dine-in, takeout items must be compostable or recyclable, accessories are only given on request, and delivery apps must let customers choose them. It does not cover the City of Los Angeles.

New York City

"Skip the Stuff", in force since 31 July 2023: takeout and delivery orders may not include utensils, condiments, napkins or extra containers unless the customer asks, and apps must default to "no". Fines of $50, $150 and $250 began on 1 July 2024. The notice to post is available in more than fifteen languages.

New Jersey (statewide)

The strongest version so far, effective 1 August 2026: accessories only on request, and full-service restaurants with ten or more seats must use reusable utensils for dine-in.

California (statewide)

AB 1276, since 1 January 2022: single-use accessories and condiment packets only on request. StopWaste's fact sheet explains it in four languages.
AB 619, since 1 January 2020: customers may bring their own containers, and event vendors may use reusables.
SB 54, the packaging producer-responsibility law. Its permanent regulations were approved on 1 May 2026, and expanded polystyrene foodware can no longer be sold in the state because it missed the recycling target set for 2025. The obligations fall on producers rather than restaurants, but it is why foam is disappearing from supply catalogues.

Everywhere else

Two trackers cover the rest. The Surfrider Foundation's policy map records more than 1,000 local and state laws on bags, polystyrene and straws across the United States, updated twice a year and most recently in December 2025. The National Caucus of Environmental Legislators tracks bills in state legislatures weekly; filter by "zero waste".