The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announces the launch of its Cut the Cutlery outreach campaign to reduce single-use utensils, condiment packets, and plastic straws. The Cut the Cutlery campaign is part of the DEP’s Get Past Plastic initiative, which aims to reduce plastic consumption and waste throughout the state.

To help keep New Jersey’s streets and waterways clean, improve human health, conserve resources, and protect wildlife, the Cut the Cutlery campaign encourages residents to:

1. Bring their own reusable utensils and straws when dining out
2. Take only the items they need from utensil dispensers and self-serve condiment stations
3. Ask for only what they need when requesting single-use utensils, condiments, and plastic straws.

The campaign also provides information and resources for food service businesses, including an informative website with a guide for restaurants and an outreach toolkit containing a variety of resources. Food service businesses can use the available scripts to help train their staff and download flyers, signs, social media posts, logos, and mascots for use in their own outreach efforts. In addition, the DEP plans to conduct social media outreach as part of this campaign, commencing in August, to further raise awareness of the importance of reducing single-use foodservice items. The campaign supports N.J.S.A. 13-1E-99.134a, in effect August 1, 2026, which limits the distribution of single-use utensils and condiments at food service businesses, as well as N.J.S.A. 13-1E-99.126 et seq., in effect since May 2022, which limits the distribution of single-use plastic straws.

Casual Dining

All Orders (Dine-In and Take-Out)

What you CANNOT do:

• Give out single-use utensils, plastic straws, or condiments automatically
• Ask customers if they want these items
• Put single-use plastic straws in dispensers

What you SHOULD do:

• Prepare all orders without single-use items unless the customer asks
• Give customers only what they specifically request
• Let customers use self-serve utensil dispensers and condiment stations
• Provide plastic straws only when a customer requests them

Full-service restaurant 

Dine-In 

What you CANNOT do:

• Give out disposable utensils automatically
• Give out condiment packets automatically
• Give out plastic straws unless customers ask for them

What you SHOULD do:

• Give all dine-in customers reusable, washable utensils
• Serve condiments in bottles or portion cups
• Only provide plastic straws if a customer requests one
• Do not offer plastic straws voluntarily

Full-service restaurant

Take-out

What you CANNOT do:

• Include single-use utensils and condiments automatically
• Give utensils or condiments if customers request them by phone or in person

What you SHOULD do:

• Package all take-out orders without single-use utensils and condiments
• Only include these items if the customer requested them in their online order
• Give customers exactly what they requested—no more, no less
• Provide plastic straws only if requested by phone or in person (but don’t offer them)

If you have any questions about this campaign or New Jersey’s single-use plastic laws, please contact singleuseplastics@dep.nj.gov.