Customers will no longer be able to use plastic forks or spoons at restaurants in Upper Merion, Pennsylvania, as phase two of the township’s single-use plastic ban went into effect on Monday, July 1, 2024.
During a business meeting back on July 13, 2023, the Upper Merion Township Board of Supervisors adopted an ordinance amending the township’s code to regulate the usage of single-use plastic products.
Phase one of the plan, which banned single-use carry-out plastic bags, plastic straws, and expanded polystyrene food service products at restaurants, went into effect on Jan. 1, 2024.
Township officials said the ordinance helps improve the environment by reducing unnecessary waste. Township officials also said stores and takeout spots can charge 10 cents for reusable bags to deal with rising costs.
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Businesses who violate the ordinance will first receive a written warning and will then be fined $50 for the first violation, $100 for the second violation and then $250 for the third and subsequent violations.
Tony Capone, owner of Angelo’s Pizza in King of Prussia, told NBC10 he’ll never charge his customers for bags. Despite not being a fan of the ban, however, he still stocked his business up with paper containers and paper straws.
“It’s a lot on us. Especially mom and shop places like us,” Capone said. “And if you go to fancy restaurants, they store a lot of plastic out there. Not that I go to fancy restaurants much. Because I cannot afford it.”
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Debbie Biddle, a customer at Screwballs, a bar in King of Prussia, also told NBC10 she wasn’t a fan of the rule.
“I don’t like it,” Biddle said. “The reason being is everything else is in plastic, okay? You buy your vegetables. You buy your meats. Everything’s in plastic. So the consumer, I think is suffering with this.”
Christopher and Christina Cook -- Connecticut residents who were traveling in the area and stopped at the King of Prussia Service Plaza -- also weighed in on the plastic ban.
“We don’t get plastic bags in Connecticut. We haven’t for years. So, it’s not a big deal,” Christina Cook said. “Utensils is weird. I don’t like that. That’s not convenient for travelers. But the bag thing is not new for us.”
Other customers at the service plaza said they supported the ordinance, with one man calling it great for the environment.
Upper Merion Township is offering free reusable shopping bags for residents and customers at the Upper Merion Township building. The bags include a QR code which links out to more information on the town’s single-use plastic ordinance, which you can find here or in the document embedded below.
Twelve states and more than 500 cities across the country have implemented bans on single-use plastic bags. The bans have helped reduce litter and pollution, according to the research and policy center, Environment America.
