Proposal targets plastic cutlery
Bill before legislature would also affect plastic stirrers, individual condiment packages
Ulster County lawmakers will hold a public hearing Tuesday on a proposal to add plastic stirrers, cutlery and individual condiment packages to a local law requiring restaurants and fast-food establishments to ask before providing their patrons with single-use plastic straws.
Legislators Laura Petit and Joseph Maloney have introduced a bill that would make those items on-demand only commodities.
The proposal was introduced in July, a month after Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan signed legislation that requires all restaurants and fast-food establishments to ask patrons if they want disposable plastic straws rather than just hand them out.
Over the past few years, Ulster County has enacted a series of bans on commonly used items that are not recyclable and have been deemed detrimental to the environment.
In 2015, the county banned the use of polystyrene cups and takeout containers by the county itself and all fast-food restaurants
and other restaurants regulated by the county. (Polystyrene foam commonly is known by the trademarked name Styrofoam.)
Polystyrene is a known carcinogen in test animals and is classified as a likely carcinogen in humans. Additionally, it doesn’t biodegrade and is considered a major component of plastic debris in the ocean and the waste stream.
In July, a law barring retailers in the county from placing customers’ purchases in single-use plastic bags went into effect.
Beginning in September, restaurants and fast food establishments will be required to ask patrons if they want a single-use plastic straw.
The public hearing will take place at 6:20 p.m. in the Legislative chambers of the Ulster County Office Building, 244 Fair St., Kingston.