DELAWARE HOUSE BILL 111
ACTION ALERT FOR HB 111
Substitute 2 for HB 111, aka the Skip the Stuff Act
Your action is needed to move this bill forward! Take action by emailing the members of the House who are next up to vote on HB 111 (HS2).
AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO REDUCING THE AUTOMATIC PROVISION OF SINGLE-USE EATING UTENSILS, CONDIMENT PACKETS, AND OTHER ITEMS.
House Bill 111 would prohibit food establishments from providing any single-use food service items, whether plastic or not, unless specifically requested by a customer. This Substitute also exempts nonprofit organizations and schools from the definition of food establishment for the purposes of the bill, and adds civil fines for third and subsequent violations of Chapter 30Q of Title 16. These penalties take effect 2 years after enactment to allow time for businesses to become educated about the requirements of the law, while the remainder of the Act takes effect on January 1, 2026.
ACTION ALERT ON SB 130 TO BAN retail sales of EPS foam
Senate Bill 130 passed the Senate and House Committee, Awaits House Vote
Recently introduced, Senate Bill 130 aims to restrict the retail sales of expanded polystyrene foam products including plates, cups, packing peanuts and coolers. SB 130 expands legislation passed in 2023 (SB 51) which restricted the use of EPS foam by food establishments (e.g. restaurants and school cafeterias) and goes into effect July 1 of this year.
SB 130 LEGISLATION SYNOPSIS:
This Act prohibits 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. This Act takes effect on January 1, 2027.
Similar laws are already in place in MD, NJ, CA, ME, DC, NYC, VT, CO and beyond.
SB130 passed out of the Senate Committee on the Environment, Energy & Transportation on May 14 with some anticipated amendments to be made prior to Senate vote.
DELAWAre 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
