Every restaurant, café, food truck, and delivery service in New Jersey will stop automatically handing out plastic forks, knives, and condiment packets starting Saturday, August 1, under the state's new "Skip the Stuff" law. That includes every eatery along Millburn Avenue, in the Livingston retail corridor, and near The Mall at Short Hills.

Gov. Phil Murphy signed Senate Bill 3195 on January 20. The law means customers ordering takeout or delivery will need to ask for utensils and condiments. Online ordering platforms must default to "no utensils or condiments," requiring diners to opt in.

Full-service restaurants with seating for 10 or more must switch to reusable utensils for dine-in meals. That covers spots like Vette Ristorante at Calabria in Livingston and the sit-down restaurants throughout downtown Millburn. Self-serve dispensers are still allowed, but only if they dispense individual items rather than bundled cutlery packs.

The Millburn Environmental Commission began publicizing the law locally in February.

K-12 schools, healthcare facilities, correctional institutions, and food court vendors don't have to comply. Pre-packaged items with utensils attached during manufacturing and single-use sauce cups for dine-in service are also exempt.

Businesses that violate the law will receive a warning on the first offense, a $100 fine for a second violation, and $250 for each subsequent violation within 12 months, according to a Union County announcement. Penalty funds go to the state's Clean Communities Program Fund, with municipalities allowed to keep up to 30 percent of what they collect.

Union County Commissioner Chairman Joseph C. Bodek urged residents and businesses to prepare in a Thursday, July 17 statement. "Whether it looks like keeping reusable utensils in purses or office drawers, or making sure to request them from food vendors when placing an order, it's important that residents plan ahead for these changes to ensure a smoother dining experience going forward," Bodek said.

New Jersey already had more than 60 local "Skip the Stuff" ordinances on the books before the statewide bill was enacted, according to Beyond Plastics NJ. Volunteers with Clean Ocean Action removed 2,193 plastic forks, knives, and spoons from New Jersey beaches in 2024 alone, and nearly 37,000 utensils over the past decade.

Nationally, restaurants spend roughly $20 billion a year on single-use utensils and condiments, according to a 2020 Overbrook Foundation report cited by the Surfrider Foundation.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection launched a "Cut the Cutlery" campaign with training scripts, downloadable flyers, and social media templates for businesses. The toolkit is available at dep.nj.gov/get-past-plastic/outreach-toolkit/. Residents with questions about compliance in Union County can call the Recycling Hotline at 908-654-9889.