DELAWARE - A new law banning several single-use plastic products has officially taken effect in Delaware.
Senate Bill 51, passed in 2023 and signed by Governor John Carney, is aimed at reducing plastic waste across the state.
Under the new law, food service businesses are no longer allowed to provide the following items:
Polystyrene (foam) food containers
Plastic beverage stirrers
Plastic cocktail picks
Plastic sandwich picks
Single-use plastic straws — only available upon customer request
The ban applies to all restaurants, food trucks, cafes, and other food service establishments.
Madison Lewis, owner of High Tide Coffee and Bowls in Fenwick Island, said her café has been operating with little to no plastic since it opened five years ago.
“I think it's important to be conscious of the plastic use just because we're right across the street from the beach,” Lewis said. “So we're trying to limit that as much as possible is really important to us.”
But not everyone is sold on paper straws. Lewis said she’s seen customers decline them altogether.
“Quite often people will get drinks and I'll go to hand them a paper straw and they'll ask me if it's a paper straw and then choose to not use it,” she said. “I think a lot of people don't like the paper straws because when they get wet, they just kind of like fall apart.”
Delaware is now the eighth state in the nation to enact a law specifically regulating the distribution of plastic straws.