Single-Use Plastic Legislative Toolkit

Before You Begin

This toolkit is presented as a menu of options that you can mix and match to put together the strongest bill that you think your state or city might realistically consider and pass. Each section targets a different problematic single-use plastic item.

To use this toolkit, click through each tab (Sections 1 – 15) to explore the different policy options available. From there, decide which policies you want to include in your bill. Each section has sample language for you to copy and paste into our downloadable bill template. This is the language you’ll use to create your bill. To help you get started, you can find an outline of the bill sections below.

Bill Outline

Section 1: Definitions

Every bill starts with a definitions section that explains what the key terms and components of the bill mean. It is very important to have strong definitions to avoid misinterpretation of the bill’s purpose. For plastic reduction laws, this includes definitions for the specific products you want to regulate.

Some bills focus on a single product while others regulate multiple products. Whatever you choose, we have provided the language necessary to develop a bill that accomplishes your goals. To help you develop a bill that targets and eliminates the single-use plastic products you’re concerned with, we recommend that you review each section of this toolkit. Each section targets a different single-use plastic product. They will have sample definitions which you should copy and paste into Section 1 of your bill template if you select that product to regulate.

Section 2: Single-use Carryout Bags

Include this section of you want to ban the use and sale of single-use plastic bags in your community.

Single-use plastic bags are the most common item regulated under single-use plastic reduction laws. This isn’t surprising because these items are incredibly wasteful, they are not recyclable, and they are easily replaceable with environmentally friendly alternatives. Additionally, single-use plastic bags are often found littered in our communities. Many states and local governments across the U.S. have enacted bills to reduce single-use consumer bags. The most impactful bills don’t just ban single-use plastic bags, they also restrict single-use paper bags or require consumers to pay a fee for single-use paper bags. This helps incentivize customers to use their own reusable bag, rather than rely on a single-use one.

Review the following options and choose one to use in your bill.

Section 3: Single-use Polystyrene Foam Products

Include this section of you want to ban the use and sale of polystyrene foam food serviceware in your community.

Polystyrene foam is the generic term for the plastic material more commonly known as Styrofoam. Polystyrene foam is extremely toxic, unrecyclable, and items made from polystyrene foam are often littered. Despite this, polystyrene foam is often used for food storage like takeout containers and meat trays. To fix this, states and communities across the country are using single-use plastic reduction laws to ban polystyrene foam food containers. Some states have also banned additional items and products made from polystyrene foam, like packing peanuts and portable coolers.

Review the following options and choose one to include in your bill.

Section 4: Single-Use Plastic Straws

Include this section in your bill if you want to make single-use plastic straws available only when customers request them in your community.

Single-use plastic straws are a significant source of plastic pollution. They are one of the most commonly collected items at beach cleanups across the country. Plastic straws are dangerous to wildlife because many animals mistake them for food, causing injury and death. For most people, plastic straws aren’t necessary to enjoy their beverage. There are also many more sustainable alternatives such as straws made from paper, glass, metal, or bamboo.

However, it is important to note that plastic straws are an important accessibility item for individuals with disabilities. For that reason, this policy doesn’t completely ban single-use plastic straws. Instead, it prohibits restaurants and food service businesses from providing customers with single-use plastic straws unless the customer specifically requests one. This policy drastically reduces the amount of single-use plastic straws while still leaving some needed flexibility for access.

Hundreds of local communities across the U.S. have passed policies making single-use plastic straws only available upon request. States have also taken this approach, including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.

Sample Language for Your Bill

If you want to include this policy in your bill, copy and paste the following into SECTION 4 of the bill template.

Copy and Paste

1. Beginning one year after the effective date of this act a food service business shall only provide a single-use plastic straw to a customer upon the request of the customer.
2. Nothing in this section shall be constructed to prohibit:
   1. a food service business from providing customers with a non-plastic straw, including but not limited to straws made from paper, sugar cane, bamboo, glass, metal, or compostable materials; or
   2. a retail establishment from selling packaging of single-use plastic straws to a customer, or from providing or selling a beverage pre-packaged by the manufacturer with a single-use plastic straw, including, but not limited to, a juice box.

Section 5: Single-Use Mini-Toiletries at Lodging Establishments

Include this section if you want to phase out single-use plastic toiletries at hotels and resorts in your community.

Hotels, resorts, and other lodging establishments often provide guests with complimentary toiletries like shampoo, conditioner, soap, lotion, etc. Often, these are provided in tiny plastic containers. These containers are too small to be recycled and therefore end up as waste. In fact, the hospitality industry generates a tremendous amount of single-use plastic waste as a result of these single-use personal care products, all of which is either burned, buried, or littered.

In response, some communities are passing policies which phase out the use of these small, single-use plastic toiletries at hotels. At the state level, this includes California, Illinois, New York, and Washington. These laws prohibit hotels and resorts from providing personal health, cosmetic, and beauty products in small plastic containers, wrappers, or other plastic packaging. All four state laws break the ban down into two phases, with the law initially only applying to large hotels and resorts – generally those with at least 50 rooms, before applying to all hotels and resorts. This helps give smaller businesses more time to make the changes necessary to comply with the law.

Often, hotels comply with these requirements by replacing single-use toiletry bottles with full-size pump dispensers which are refilled. Some hotels – such as Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt — are already voluntarily phasing out single-use plastics, including replacing single-use toiletry bottles with full-size pump dispensers.

Sample Language for Your Bill

If you decide to take this approach, use the sample language below for SECTION 1 and SECTION 5 of the bill template.

Copy and Paste

Copy the following definitions and paste them into SECTION 1 of the bill template.

1. “Lodging establishment” means an establishment that contains one or more sleeping room accommodations that are rented or otherwise provided to the public, including a hotel, condominium hotel, motel, resort, bed and breakfast home, transient vacation rental, transient accommodation, or hosted rental. “Lodging establishment” does not include a hospital, nursing home, residential retirement community, prison, jail, correctional facility, homeless shelter, boarding school, worker housing, or long-term rental home.
2. “Personal care products” includes shampoo, hair conditioner, and soap, bath gel, and lotion intended to be applied to or used on the human body.
3. “Small, single-use plastic bottle” means a plastic bottle or container with less than a 12-ounce capacity that is intended to be nonreusable by the end user.

Now copy and paste the following into SECTION 5 of the bill template.

1. Beginning two years after the effective date of this act, lodging establishments with more than fifty sleeping room accommodations shall not provide a small, single-use plastic bottle containing a personal care product to any person staying in a sleeping room accommodation, in any space within the sleeping room accommodation, or in any bathroom used by the public or guests.  
2. Beginning four years after the effective date of this act, lodging establishments with less than fifty sleeping room accommodations shall not provide a small, single-use plastic bottle containing a personal care product to any person staying in a sleeping room accommodation, in any space within the sleeping room accommodation, or in any bathroom used by the public or guests. 
3. A lodging establishment may: 
   1. Use bulk dispensers of personal care products; and 
   2. Provide personal care products packaged in a container made from non-plastic materials to a person, upon request, at a place other than a sleeping room accommodation, a space within the sleeping room accommodation, or within any bathroom used by the public or guests. 

Section 6: Black Plastic Takeout Containers

Include this section if you want to prohibit retailers from using or selling certain food service products made from black colored plastic.

Because of their color, black plastic is mostly not recycled. The technology that recycling facilities use to sort plastics can’t spot these products, so they end up in landfills or incinerators. Remember, “plastic” is a general term for various fossil fuel derived synthetic polymers. This means plastic products are not a single material, and each type and color of plastic must be separated and undergo a different recycling process. 

Additionally, black plastic can be particularly toxic because there are no government regulations covering the safety of recycled black plastic items. In fact, black plastics can contain toxic chemicals such as phthalates and flame retardants, as well as heavy metals like cadmium, lead, nickel, chromium, and mercury. Despite all of this, black plastics are often used to manufacture food containers and packaging.

To address this, some communities are banning the use of black plastic in food service items like takeout containers, cutlery, and meat and fish trays. Newton, Massachusetts banned black plastic takeout containers. The Massachusetts State Senate passed a bill that would also ban the black plastic takeout containers. However, the bill did not pass the house. A ban on black plastic is also included in the proposed Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act. This proposed federal law would not only ban single-use food serviceware made of black plastic, but also all black plastic consumer packaging.

Sample Language for Your Bill

If you decide to take this approach, use the sample language below for SECTION 1 and SECTION 6 of the bill template.

Copy and Paste

Copy the following definitions and paste them into SECTION 1 of the bill template.

1. “Black plastic” means any plastic with a black plastic resin code 1 through 7.
2. “Disposable food service ware” means a single-use or disposable product for heating, storing, packaging, serving, consuming, or transporting a prepared or ready-to-consume food or beverage.

Now copy and paste the following into SECTION 6 of the bill template.

1. Beginning one year from the effective date of this act:
   1. No food service business shall sell, offer for sale, or otherwise distribute disposable food serviceware made using a black plastic; and
   2. No retail establishment shall sell, offer for sale or otherwise distribute –
      1. Any disposable food serviceware made using black plastic; or
      2. Any meat tray, fish tray, seafood tray, vegetable tray, or egg carton made wholly or partially using a black plastic.

Section 7: Intentional Balloon Releases  

Include this section if you want to ban the intentional release of balloons in your community.

Unlike other sections of this bill, here you’re not banning a product, but rather an action. While ballons are often celebratory, releasing them into the air creates litter that is harmful to the environment and lethal to marine life. In fact, ballons are frequently one of the most common items collected during beach clean-ups.

Communities across the country have passed laws banning the intentional release of balloons. At the state level, California, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Virginia have passed this type of policy.

Sample Language for Your Bill

If you decide to take this approach, use the sample language below for SECTION 1 and SECTION 7 of the bill template.

Copy and Paste

Copy the following definition of “balloon” and paste it into SECTION 1 of the bill template.

1. “Balloon” means a flexible nonporous bag made from materials such as plastic, rubber, latex, polychloroprene or nylon fabric that can be inflated or filled with gas or fluid, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, air or water, and then sealed at the neck of the bag.

Now copy and paste the following into SECTION 7 of the bill template.

1. Beginning one year from the effective date of this act no person shall knowingly or intentionally cause to be released outdoors a balloon inflated with lighter-than-air gas.
2. The prohibition under subsection (a) shall not apply to –
   1. A balloon released by, or on behalf of, any Federal department or agency for scientific or meteorological purposes; or
   2. A hot air balloon that is recovered after launch.
3. A violation of subsection (a) shall be punishable by a fine in an amount equal to not more than $100.

Section 8: Plastic Wet Wipes

Include this section if you want to address environmental impacts of plastic wet wipes in your community.

Single-use wet wipes have become a common item for many American households. Unfortunately, many wet wipe brands are made of plastic. Over time, discarded plastic wipes break down into microplastics, polluting waterways and finding their way into human bodies.

Additionally, because some plastic wet wipes are marketed as flushable and because of the lack of consumer education by producers, many of these plastic wipes are incorrectly flushed down toilets. This clogs pipes, damages our sewers, and further harms our environment.

State wet wipe laws in the United States are primarily concerned with labeling requirements regarding flushability. But bans on single-use plastic wet wipes are being considered, like New Jersey’s bill to ban the sale of non-flushable wipes, which unfortunately did not pass. Additionally, the United Kingdom recently banned plastic wet wipes.

Please note that the sample language below bans only single-use plastic wet wipes. Because of the logistical hurdles that can come with washing reusable wipes, many people, especially parents of young children and other caregivers, depend on single-use wipes. This sample language will not impact the availability of non-plastic single-use wipes.

Sample Language for Your Bill

If you decide to take this approach, use the sample language below for SECTION 1 and SECTION 8 of the bill template.

Copy and Paste

Copy and paste the following definition in SECTION 1 of your bill:

1. “Single-use plastic wet wipe” means any product designed and marketed to, or commonly used by, the public for personal hygiene or cleaning purposes, including diaper wipes, toilet wipes, household cleaning wipes, personal care wipes, and facial wipes, whether sold individually or in bulk, that is made in whole or in part of plastic material, including nonwoven sheets, moist toilet tissue, or cloth.

Now copy and paste the following into SECTION 8 of the bill template.

1. Beginning one year from the effective date of this act, no retail establishment shall sell any single-use plastic wet wipe, other than for a medical application.
2. Nothing in this section shall be constructed to prohibit any prescription plastic wet wipe or other prescription product.

Section 9: Noncompostable Produce Stickers

Include this section if you want to prohibit the sale and distribution of produce with a noncompostable sticker.

Redirecting food waste from landfills to compost is on the rise in the United States. However, as communities begin to pass Food Waste Prevention and Recycling Laws and the number of composting facilities expands, a roadblock for this progress is plastic produce stickers on our fruits and vegetables. Although fruit and vegetable scraps are compost gold, these stickers aren’t. They are a big problem for composting facilities because they can contaminate the compost. These stickers also can’t be recycled and often end up polluting our environment.

Washington has considered bans on noncompostable produce stickers. Other countries have passed laws banning noncompostable produce stickers.

Sample Language for Your Bill

If you decide to take this approach, use the sample language below for SECTION 1 and SECTION 9 of the bill template.

Copy and Paste

Copy and paste the following definition in SECTION 1 of your bill:

1. “Compostable” means a product that (i) meets the American society for testing and materials (ASTM) standard specification D6400; (ii) meets ASTM standard specification D6868; or (iii) is comprised only of wood, which includes renewable wood, or a fiber-based substrate that contains greater than 98 percent fiber and no plastic or polymer additives or coatings.
2. “Produce sticker” means a label or marking directly affixed, or designed to be affixed, to an item intended for human consumption or to the skin or peel of an item intended for human consumption. This includes the adhesive used to affix the label or marking to an item. Produce sticker does not include a container or other packaging primarily intended to transport, handle, or protect a food product and that is affixed to an item intended for human consumption or its skin or peel.

Now copy and paste the following into SECTION 9 of the bill template.

1. Beginning one year from the effective date of this act no retail establishment shall sell or distribute any produce to which a produce sticker that is not compostable is affixed.

Section 10: Single-Use Plastic Water Bottles

Include this section if you want to prohibit the sale and use of plastic water bottles in your community.

Bottled water is a multi-billion-dollar industry that is largely unnecessary and entirely wasteful. The majority of bottled water sold in the U.S. comes in single-use plastic bottles. Although these bottles are technically recyclable, most of them are littered, landfilled, or burned in incinerators.

Worse, water packaged in single-use plastic bottles contains high levels of micro-and-nano-plastics. At 1,000th the average width of a human hair, nanoplastics are so teeny they can migrate through the tissues of the digestive tract or lungs into the bloodstream, distributing potentially harmful synthetic chemicals throughout the body and into cells. This includes harmful chemicals such as bisphenols, phthalates, flame retardants, PFAS, and heavy metals.

In response, some communities are taking action. In 2012, Concord, MA became the first community in the U.S. to ban the sale of single-use plastic water bottles. Since then, a handful of other towns in Massachusetts, including Arlington, Great Barrington, Rockport, and Provincetown. At the state level, Maine attempted to ban single-use water bottles in 2023.

Sample Language for Your Bill

If you decide to take this approach, use the sample language below for SECTION 1 and SECTION 10 of the bill template.

Copy and Paste

Copy and paste the following definition in SECTION 1 of your bill:

1. “Single-use plastic water bottle” means any single serving container, whether sold individually or in bulk, containing non-carbonated, unflavored drinking water with a volume of one liter or less, that is made in whole or in part of plastic material, excluding the cap.

Now copy and paste the following into SECTION 10 of the bill template.

1. Beginning one year from the effective date of this act, no retail establishment shall sell any single-use plastic water bottle.

Section 11: Single-Use Plastic Food Serviceware Upon Request

Customers of foodservice businesses often will automatically be supplied with various unnecessary items like utensils, condiment packets, straws, stirrers, splash-sticks, and more. These products frequently end up going unused and straight to the trash. Regulating single-use food serviceware allows customers to order food and beverages without receiving unnecessary and unrequested single-use plastic foodware. These bills are typically known as “Skip the Stuff” bills.

Here’s how they work: Foodservice businesses are prohibited from giving out common single-use products unless the customer specifically requests them. This way, the customer is only getting products they actually need. These laws also prohibit restaurants from packaging single-use foodware together in a way that doesn’t let a customer select the specific item they want. Under these laws, third party food delivery platforms, like Doordash, Grubhub, and Ubereats, must also allow customers to select what food serviceware items they would like when making their order. California and Washington have passed “Skip the Stuff” bills, as have several major U.S. cities.

Sample Language for Your Bill

If you decide to take this approach, use the sample language below for SECTION 1 and SECTION 11 of the bill template.

Copy and Paste

Copy and paste the following definition in SECTION 11 of your bill:

1. “Single-Use Food Serviceware” means all types of items provided by food service businesses in relation to the consumption and enjoyment of food or beverages, including, but not limited to, forks, spoons, knives, napkins, straws, stirrers, cocktail sticks, splash sticks, toothpicks, wet-wipes, cup lids, cup sleeves, beverage trays, and unfilled cups, plates, and take-out containers that are designed for single-use.
2. “Single-Use Condiment” means relishes, spices, sauces, confections, or seasonings that require no additional preparation and that are usually used on a food item after preparation, including ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, soy sauce, hot sauce, salsa, salt, pepper, sugar, and sugar substitutes or other similar items that are designed for single-use.
3. “Third-Party Food Delivery Platform” means a business engaged in the service of online food ordering and/or delivery of food or beverages from a food service business to a consumer.

Now copy and paste the following into SECTION 11 of the bill template.

1. Only upon request by a customer, may a food service business provide single-use food serviceware or single-use condiment.
2. Single-use food serviceware and single-use condiments provided by food service business for use by consumers shall not be bundled or packaged in a manner that prohibits a consumer from taking only the type of single-use food serviceware or single-use condiment desired without also having to take a different type of single-use food serviceware or single-use condiment.
3. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a food service business from selling or providing food or beverages that are pre-packaged by the manufacturer in single-use food serviceware.
4. A third-party food delivery platform shall:
   1. Provide consumers with the option to request single-use food serviceware and single-use condiments from food service businesses; and
   2. Customize its menu with a list of available single-use food service ware and single-use condiments, and only those single-use food service ware and single-use condiments selected by the consumer shall be provided by the food service business or the third-party food delivery platform. If a consumer does not select any single-use food service ware or single-use condiments, no single-use food service ware or single-use condiments shall be provided by the food service business or the third-party delivery platform.
5. A violation of this subsection shall result in an initial written warning in which the violating party shall have 30 days to correct the violation. After an initial written warning notice has been issues, the food service business or third-party food deliver platform shall be subject to the following penalties:
   1. A fine of $100 for the first violation;
   2. A fine of $200 for the second violation; or
   3. A fine of 500 for a third and any subsequent violations.
   4. A fine shall be imposed for each day a violation occurs or is allowed to continue.

Section 12: Preemption

This is only relevant if you’re introducing a bill at the county or state level. If you’re introducing the bill in your city or town, this section should not be included.

A preemption section in your county or state level bill provides clarity to jurisdictions with lower authority (like a city) of its ability to pass its own law or ordinance on the same subject matter so that it doesn’t conflict with jurisdictions of higher authority (like the county or state).

On the one hand, preemption is often used by states as a tool to explicitly prohibit communities (cities, towns, and counties) from passing any laws or policies on a specific topic. The motivation to do this is to ensure that the state law is the only law regulating this specific issue.

On the other hand, however, preemption can be used in a way that empowers local communities. Through this approach, you’ll include language in your state level bill that authorizes lower authorities (cities, towns, and counties) to pass more stringent regulations. This ensures that the state law is the floor, but the lower authority is allowed to be more restrictive leading to even more plastic reduction in that jurisdiction. 

Sample Language for Your Bill

If a preemption section is appropriate in your bill, copy and paste the following into SECTION 12 of the bill template.

Copy and Paste

1. Nothing in this act shall limit the ability of any city or county within the jurisdiction of the [Insert Name of State] from passing more restricting laws, ordinances, or regulations, as governed in this act, so long as those laws, ordinances, or regulations do not violate the provisions of this act.

Section 13: Severability

This is an insurance policy that can protect your law if it is challenged by opponents. Unfortunately, the plastics industry has a long history of trying to challenge restrictions on single-use plastics in court. In the unlikely event that a provision of your law is declared unlawful, this section ensures that only that section is invalidated. That way, the rest of your law remains valid. 

Sample Language for Your Bill

If you decide to include a severability section in your bill, copy and paste the following into SECTION 13 of the bill template.

Copy and Paste

1. If any provision of this article is found to be unconstitutional or otherwise invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction, that invalidity shall not affect the remaining provisions of this article which can be implemented without the invalid provisions, and to this end, the provisions of this article are declared to be severable. The [Insert Name of City/County/State] hereby declares that it would have adopted this article and each provision thereof irrespective of whether any one or more provisions are found invalid, unconstitutional, or otherwise unenforceable.

Section 14: Rulemaking

This section safeguards the rulemaking authority by the enforcing agency. On the state level, this is usually the State Environmental Agency for single-use plastic reduction laws. Rulemaking is a process through which an agency develops and issues rules to implement a law. The process usually requires a notice-and-comment process before a rule is final. This allows community members and other interested parties to provide feedback and insight on the rule. Once a rule is finalized, violations of the rule are enforceable. This means someone can file a lawsuit or administrative action to correct these violations.

Including a section on rulemaking in your bill ensures that the agency tasked with monitoring and enforcing the bill is authorized to adopt rules necessary to accomplish the goals of the bill. This allows the agency to address and fix unforeseen developments and aid in executing the bill without having to modify the law.

Giving the agency this authority is also practical because they usually have more expertise in the subject matter than legislators and can more quickly identify issues and fix them through rules rather than having to amend the law.

Depending on how much you trust your enforcing agency and their history of transparency, you may want to explicitly include what the agency must develop rules on. Otherwise, the agency may just issue guidance or be silent on its process.

Sample Language for Your Bill

Copy and paste the following into SECTION 14 of the bill template.

Copy and Paste

1. The Department shall adopt any rules and regulations as necessary to effectuate the provisions of this act.

Section 15: Enforcement

The requirements and standards in your Single-use Plastic Reduction Law don’t amount to much if your state cannot enforce them. The language we’ve drafted for this section allows your state to do just that. Most plastic reduction laws authorize an agency, a county, and local governments to have the authority to enforce the act. Violations of most plastic reduction laws lead to a warning for a first offense and civil penalties for subsequent offenses.

Sample Language for Your Bill

Copy and paste the following into SECTION 15 of the bill template.

Copy and Paste

1. Unless otherwise stated in this act, any person or entity that violates a provision of this act or any rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto, shall be subject to a warning for a first offense, up to $1,000 for a second offense, and up to $5,000 for a third or subsequent offense. If the violation is of a continuing nature, each day during which it continues shall constitute an additional, separate, and distinct offense. 
2. Any penalty collected pursuant to this section shall be remitted to the Department. 
3. The Department, a county, and a municipality shall have the authority to enforce the provisions of this act.