A Simple Solution: Skip the Stuff

Most of us have experienced this: you open a takeout bag you brought home and find plastic utensils, napkins, and condiment cups or packets you didn’t ask for. 

Or when dining at a restaurant, your drink arrives at the table with a straw already in it.

14 pieces of single-use items were included with an order of one crepe.

These single-use items may seem insignificant, but disposable accessory items from takeout meals are a common source of plastic pollution.

To help address this problem, California enacted the Skip the Stuff Law (AB 1276), which went into effect in January 2022. The law is simple: restaurants and food delivery services provide disposable accessories only when customers request them. 

What Does the Skip the Stuff Law Require?

Under AB 1276:

• Retail food facilities and food delivery platforms must provide single-use foodware accessories and condiments only upon request.
  • Covered items include utensils, straws, chopsticks, stirrers, and condiment cups and packets—including those made from bioplastics, compostable plastic, bamboo, and paper.
• At drive-throughs and airports, staff may ask customers if they would like them.
• Restaurants using third-party delivery platforms should only include accessories that customers select while ordering in their bags.
• Single-use foodware accessories cannot be bundled together.

Learn more about AB 1276 by reading this California Department of Public Health fact sheet. 

A Win for Businesses

By shifting to a “by request” model, businesses can lower supply costs and reduce waste hauling fees, while demonstrating their commitment to sustainability, which is appealing to customers, most of whom want to see a broad reduction in single-use plastics. In fact, according to a survey conducted by Data for Progress, the majority of voters are concerned about plastic pollution and support mitigation measures, including bans on single-use plastics in their communities.

Many restaurants add to their overhead by automatically including utensils, napkins, and condiment packets in takeout orders, and when customers are eating at home, they probably already have these items in their kitchens. As a result, many disposable accessories go straight from the takeout bag to the trash bin or pile up unused in kitchen drawers.

One part of the law that is often overlooked by dine-in restaurants is the practice of placing straws directly into drinks before they are served. Automatically adding a straw to every iced tea, soft drink, and cocktail may seem convenient, but it creates unnecessary waste and adds to purchasing costs.

Plastic straws found on the beach in Carlsbad on March 3, 2026.

What Businesses Can Do

Businesses can take several simple steps to comply with the law, reduce waste, and save money:

• Educate staff so they understand and follow the law.
  • Download a staff resource 1-pager on how to reduce single-use plastics!
• Do not offer bundled single-use items.
• Update online ordering systems so customers can request only the accessories they need.
• Post signage letting customers know accessories are available upon request.
  • Download an "Upon Request Only" Sign!
    
• Review local ordinances to understand additional requirements that may apply.
  • If you're in San Diego County, you can use the San Diego Chapter's Plastic Laws tracker
  • If you're in Los Angeles County, you can use Reusable LA's Plastic Policy Guide! Simply enter your address, and it will tell you which plastic policies apply to you. 
• Join Surfrider’s Ocean Friendly Restaurants program.
  • Review the Quick Guide.

What Customers Can Do

Customers also play an important role in making the Skip the Stuff law successful. A few simple actions can help reinforce the shift away from unnecessary single-use plastics:

• Politely decline utensils, straws, or condiment packets you don’t need.
• Saying “no straw, please” when ordering helps shift expectations.
• If a straw is automatically placed in your drink, consider mentioning the Skip the Stuff law and asking that straws be provided only upon request in the future.
• Uncheck accessory boxes when ordering online unless you truly need them.
• Carry reusable utensils with you to avoid needing single-use plastic forks, knives, and spoons. 
• Report when necessary.
  • For example, in San Diego County, the Department of Environmental Health and Quality (DEHQ) is responsible for enforcement. If a restaurant you frequent consistently ignores Skip the Stuff requirements, contacting DEHQ at (858) 505-6900 can help address the issue.
• Become a Surfrider Ocean Friendly Restaurants program volunteer.

Volunteers canvas businesses in La Mesa regarding the Ocean Friendly Restaurants program.

Why Does It Matter?

Anyone who has participated in a beach cleanup has seen the impact of single-use plastics firsthand. Plastic accessories from takeout meals are regularly found along our coastline.

Because these items are lightweight, they are easily carried by wind and rain into storm drains, creeks, and other waterways. From there, they travel through the watershed and out to the ocean, where they break up into microplastics that will persist forever.

By shifting from “include everything” to “only when requested” mindsets, we can reduce unnecessary plastic waste and help protect our ocean, waves, and beaches from plastic pollution.

Over 30 pieces of cutlery were picked up off the beach in Carlsbad on November 5, 2025. They were different brands, and many of them, like the fork on the right, had baby gooseneck barnacles growing on them.