Plastic utensils are officially banned in Upper Merion restaurants

Restaurants in Upper Merion can no longer provide customers with plastic utensils.

On Monday, the final phase of township’s single-use plastic ban went into effect, blocking businesses from handing out plastic utensils in most cases.

The ban is part of a broader single-use plastic ban the township approved last year, in an effort to reduce the use of the products, which are environmentally harmful. The first part of the policy, restricting single-use plastic bags, straws and foam polystyrene food containers, took effect in January.

Under the new ban, businesses are blocked from providing single-use plastic utensils unless it is part of a food package that was prepared outside Upper Merion, is provided by a government agency, or is provided with food on a private, residential property. Not included in the ban are single-use utensils made from bamboo, cornstarch, wood or other biodegradable matter.

According to the climate advocacy group PennEnvironment, Upper Merion is among 30 localities in Pennsylvania that have banned some form of single-use plastic.

The restrictions are common in Southeast Pennsylvania where numerous townships and cities have instituted restrictions, including a plastic bag ban approved by Philadelphia in 2019. The bans have shifted residents toward reusable and biodegradable products with a lower environmental footprint. According to PennEnvironment, Upper Merion’s ban could eliminate the use of more than 12 million plastic bags annually.