North Carolina HB 423: ADDITIONAL AGGRAVATING FACTORS

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 1
HOUSE BILL 423

Short Title: Skip the Stuff Act. (Public)
Sponsors: Representatives von Haefen, Butler, Roberson, and Harrison (Primary Sponsors).
For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
Referred to: Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
March 19, 2025
*H423-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO REDUCE SINGLE-USE FOODWARE IN TAKE-OUT AND DELIVERY OF 2
PREPARED MEALS. 3
Whereas, single-use accessories for food service are frequently provided to customers 4
that do not need them, resulting in unnecessary cost to food service operators and unnecessary 5
waste that is costly for local governments to manage; and 6
Whereas, one trillion disposable foodware items are used in the United States each 7
year, generating nine million tons of waste; and 8
Whereas, forty percent (40%) of plastics generated are used for packaging purposes, 9
making packaging the number one market for plastics use; and 10
Whereas, the United States uses more than 36 billion disposable plastic utensils 11
annually. Laid end-to-end, this amount of plastic utensils could wrap around the globe 139 times; 12
and 13
Whereas, four million trees are cut down each year in order to make chopsticks in 14
China. Eliminating forests, our natural carbon sink and providers of habitat and clean air, makes 15
no sense during a climate crisis; and 16
Whereas, the manufacturing of napkins requires a significant amount of water. For 17
instance, if fifty percent (50%) of the United States' population used three paper napkins per day, 18
that would total 450 million napkins for one day, which would require 31.5 million gallons of 19
water to manufacture; and 20
Whereas, many single-use foodware accessories are made from plastic, and as much 21
as 23 million metric tons of plastic waste enter the ocean each year, most of it generated in the 22
United States; and 23
Whereas, the amount of plastics in the ocean is projected to exceed the number of fish 24
by 2030; and 25
Whereas, the vast majority of these single-use foodware accessory items are 26
problematic in the waste stream because they are not recyclable. Even when manufactured from 27
recyclable materials, food packaging is usually too dirty to be recycled. Utensils and straws are 28
contaminated in many recycling systems. Plant-based foodware and utensils are often considered 29
contaminants in commercial compost facilities. Bio-plastics do not degrade quickly enough, and 30
paper and other fibers dilute the quality of compost; and 31
Whereas, restaurants in the United States spend $24 billion purchasing disposable 32
foodware items each year; and 33
Whereas, local governments in the United States spend $6 billion managing 34
disposable foodware waste; and 35

General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 423-First Edition
Whereas, it is in the interest of the health, safety, and welfare of all who live, work, 1
and do business in the State of North Carolina that the amount of litter on public streets, parks, 2
and in other public places be reduced and the amount of single-use foodware accessory waste be 3
reduced; Now, therefore, 4
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 5
SECTION 1. Article 9 of Chapter 130A of the General Statutes is amended by 6
adding a new Part to read: 7
"Part 2J. Single-Use Foodware and Condiments. 8
"§ 130A-309.235. Definitions. 9
Unless a different meaning is required by context, the following definitions apply throughout 10
this Part: 11
(1) Food establishment. – An establishment that prepares and serves food or drink 12
as regulated pursuant to Part 6 of Article 8 of this Chapter. 13
(2) Prepared food. – Food or beverages that are serviced, packaged, cooked, 14
chopped, sliced, mixed, brewed, frozen, squeezed, poured, or otherwise 15
prepared by a food establishment in a form that is edible without additional 16
preparation. Prepared food does not include raw eggs or raw, butchered meats, 17
fish, or poultry sold from a butcher case, refrigerator case, or similar retail 18
appliance. 19
(3) Single item dispenser. – A device that stores bulk amounts of single-use 20
foodware or standard condiments and dispenses one item at a time. 21
(4) Single-use. – Designed to be used once and then disposed, and not designed 22
for repeated use and sanitizing. 23
(5) Single-use foodware. – A single-use accessory provided alongside prepared 24
food, including utensils, tongs, chopsticks, napkins, standard condiments, 25
straws, stirrers, splash sticks, cocktail sticks, toothpicks, cup lids, cup sleeves, 26
cup trays, and food trays. 27
(6) Standard condiment or condiment. – A single-use packet containing relishes, 28
spices, sauces, confections, or seasonings; that requires no additional 29
preparation; and that is used on food or beverages, including ketchup, 30
mustard, mayonnaise, soy sauce, sauerkraut, salsa, syrup, jam, jelly, salad 31
dressing, salt, su