SB 130 TO BAN retail sales of EPS foam (2025-2026)
Senate Bill 130 passed the Senate and House Committee, Awaited House Vote
Senate Bill 130, aimed at restricting the retail sales of expanded polystyrene foam products including plates, cups, packing peanuts and coolers, became of victim of political process at the end of the session and was not brought forward for a House vote despite widespread support. Despite a huge advocacy initiative, SB 130 sought to expand legislation passed in 2023 (SB 51) which restricted the use of EPS foam by food establishments (e.g. restaurants and school cafeterias) and went into effect July 1, 2025. Many thanks to the advocates who spoke up and sought legislative support for this legislation. Your voices were heard and made a difference, and we will return in January 2027 to secure passage of the bill.
SB 130 LEGISLATION SYNOPSIS:
This Act would prohibit retail stores and wholesalers from selling, distributing, or offering for sale expanded polystyrene foam products, including expanded polystyrene foam food service packaging, expanded polystyrene foam coolers used for cold storage of food, and expanded polystyrene foam loose fill packaging. Expanded polystyrene foam packaging such as single use expanded polystyrene foam food containers or loose fill expanded polystyrene foam products such as packing peanuts are difficult to recycle and are not accepted in Delaware’s curbside recycling program. Such products typically end up in landfills, where they take hundreds of years to break down. By prohibiting the sale of expanded polystyrene foam products, this Act helps to protect the environment from harmful waste. This Act allows for a temporary waiver of the prohibition on expanded polystyrene foam products under either of the following circumstances: 1. There is no feasible or commercially available alternative for a specific expanded polystyrene foam product. 2. The retail store or wholesaler seeking the waiver has less than $500,000 in gross annual income and there is no reasonably affordable, commercially available alternative to the expanded polystyrene foam product.
Similar laws are already in place in MD, NJ, CA, ME, DC, NYC, VT, CO and beyond.
Foodware Accessory Facts
- The United States discards more than 40 billion “disposable” “single-use” utensils a year. Laid end to end, they could wrap around the globe 139 times.
- In the U.S., 561 billion disposable food service items are used every year, resulting in 4.9 million tons of waste, a direct factor in climate change (oil and natural gas extraction , refining and transportation of unnecessary STUFF that is – at best – used for a few minutes – and goes directly to the landfill.
- Each year, billions of single-use plastics and paper accessories – utensils, straws, napkins, and condiments – are given to customers who order meals for take-out or delivery and don’t need them. Most take-out and delivery meals go to homes and offices already stocked with these items.
- Since 2020 online food ordering has increased 300% faster than dine-in, exacerbating the plastic pollution and waste concerns
- The vast majority of single-use take-out items and packaging cannot be recycled due to shape, composition, or food contamination. Plastic utensils and such never decompose and instead breaks into microplastics which enter our own food chain.
- Plastic particles are now proven to be found in our bloodstreams, breast milk, hearts, and brains, and is linked to cancers, insulin resistance, endocrine disruption, decreased sex hormones, and other negative consequences to the human reproductive system.
- Even if Delaware had commercial scale composting (which it doesn’t), composting facilities do not want bioplastics, and many don’t accept compostable foodware because of the contamination they cause - both in terms of chemicals like PFAS but also because of confusion around what is acceptable.
- Although compostable and bioplastic packaging and serviceware are touted as being environmentally friendly, they tend to have even greater environmental impacts than their conventional plastic counterparts and Delaware has no commercial scale composting options.
- Consumption of single-use plastics increased by 250-300 % since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in a thirty percent increase in waste which is attributed to personal protective equipment (PPE), packaging, and disposable foodware.
- Number of Accessories Consumed per Year:
- Utensils: The United States uses more than 36 billion disposable plastic utensils a year. Laid end to end, they could wrap around the globe 139 times.
- Straws: Americans use as much as 142 billion straws each year.
- Chopsticks: made in China result in cutting down 4 million trees a year (45% from cottonwood, birch, and spruce, and the rest bamboo).5 Eliminating forests, our natural carbon sink and providers of habitat and clean air, makes no sense during a climate crisis.
- Napkins: come from trees, and require significant water to produce. As an example, if 50% of the U.S. population (150M) used 3 paper napkins a day, that would total 450,000,000 napkins for 1 day – which would require 31,500,000 gallons of water to manufacture.
- Many online ordering apps already have a toggle switch for plastic ware, but they are not always defaulted to Opt Out, and restaurants do not always adhere to the customer’s request to Opt Out. If voluntary action by restaurants was the solution, it should already be happening, which it is not. With a statewide approach, all restaurants will be on the same page and customers will quickly become educated to the choice to Opt In or Out
- Skip the Stuff policy not only helps the environment, but also saves restaurants money!
- Many other jurisdictions have already passed Skip the Stuff legislation including local governments: New York City, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Honolulu, and more than 17 local governments so far in New Jersey; and states: California, Washington, and Oregon. New Jersey has statewide legislation in process.
- 9 million people (and additional visitors!) in New York City - the takeout capital of the world – have successfully adopted/navigated a Skip the Stuff policy to reduce the kitchen drawer full of old takeout forks, spoons and long-forgotten condiment packets which ultimately end up in the landfill. This new law will move us closer to cutting down on our plastic waste while making this a cleaner, greener state. The ”Skip the Stuff” law doesn’t mean these items will be gone forever – Delaware restaurant goers will still be able to request they be included when first placing their orders.
- " " ditto D.C.
- Economic Impacts: Restaurants spend $19 billion purchasing disposable foodware items every year. Local governments in the U.S. spend $1 billion managing waste and cleaning litter.
- Skip the Stuff is a Win-Win-Win Policy: Businesses save money on inventory, labor and waste costs: Customers reduce waste and unwanted clutter. Environment wins with less production of single-use items.
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POLICY & ADVOCACY COMMITTEE
OBJECTIVES:
- Develop and support passage of policy changes at the local, state and federal levels which reduce single-use plastic and other waste, and encourages a culture of circularity and zero waste
- Prioritize state level legislative action on waste/plastics reduction and composting
- Create messaging including Action Network posts in support of pending legislation
- Follow proposed federal laws on waste/plastics reduction and composting
- Engage and inform Delaware’s Congressional delegation on federal bills and encourage their support.
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DELAWAre STATE LegiSLATURE
CONTACT YOUR DELAWARE STATE ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES
To support action on plastic pollution and zero waste measures
DELAWARE'S CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVES
FOR ACTION AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL, CONTACT YOUR CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVES:
U.S. Senators
Senator Christopher Coons
Contact Via Web Form
Washington Office:
383 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Phone: (202) 224-5042
Fax: (202) 228-3075
Main District Office:
1105 N. Market St., Ste. 2000
Wilmington, DE 19801-1233
Phone: (302) 573-6345
Fax: (302) 573-6351
Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester
Representative Sarah McBride
Organizing New Community Compost Site!
We are preparing to launch our third community composting site at Carousel Park! Learn more here on the web site, and sign up here to be notified when the site is ready to start up (no commitment at this time!), use the interest form below: