The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
By Jenny C. Kafas, Volunteer to Franklin Township’s Environmental Commission
The Franklin Township Environmental Commission asks patrons and restaurant owners alike to join in on “Skip the Stuff,” a movement whose goal is to end unnecessary usage of plastic utensils and single serving condiment packages handed out in restaurants by making these items available only as necessary.
If you’re like me, then there is a drawer somewhere in your home with loose and prewrapped plasticware from past take-out meals, and, similarly, in your fridge is a handful of condiment packages given to you in excess. Now, picture every home in Franklin Township having a similar collection. That’s a lot of waste! “Skip the Stuff” aims to prevent this waste from ever existing. In the words of Clean Water Action, we want to “stop trash before it starts.”
The footprint of your “stuff” begins in factories that release greenhouse gases, produce waste, and use water, a resource becoming more endangered by the day. Then, transportation of these items to your favorite restaurants adds to their environmental impact before they are even in your hands. After being used, these items are too small and food-contaminated to be properly recycled. Assuming they are properly disposed of, they will then be incinerated, creating toxic pollutants, or be left to degrade in a landfill, where they will break down into microplastics that will embed themselves in our environment. Never mind the large amount of this waste that becomes litter finding itself in every corner of our planet.
The legacy of our “stuff” has consequences. With every passing year, we learn more about how bad excessive plastic usage is for us. Studies have shown that pollutants from items like our plasticware are linked to cancers, reproductive disorders, and neurological impairments. These issues transcend to our ecosystems where much of our wildlife is being exposed to these same chemicals, with microplastics even found in plants. We cannot willingly let these items do any more damage.
We know that unnecessary and excessive plastic usage is a massive problem, but it is seemingly unavoidable. At this juncture, how we respond as a community is extremely important. By participating in “Skip the Stuff,” we are reducing a huge amount of waste both short- and long-term, and taking steps toward the solution to a much larger problem. Think back to all the unused “stuff” laying around our homes. We can prevent those piles from getting bigger and reduce a lot of waste in our community while setting the stage for other communities to do the same.
Participating as a business owner is easy. We ask that plasticware, utensils, condiment packets, sauces, and napkins only be added to take out and carry out orders when customers request them, or have them made available for customers to take themselves. We also ask that dine-in customers are provided with reusable, washable utensils.
If you decide to participate, reach out to the Franklin Township Environmental Commission at environmental.commission@franklinnj.gov and we’ll provide signage informing customers that these items are only available upon request, a “Skip the Stuff” window decal designed by a local artist, and add you to our website.
Excessive single-use plastic waste is an issue that we as a community need to address together. Businesses need our support as they adopt these practices, and when we patronize places that aren’t ready to participate, ask them not to provide more “stuff” than you’ll use or bring your own reusable utensils.
Thank you to the businesses that are already participating and making our community more ecofriendly! Participating businesses include Atlixco Pizza Palace (Hamilton St.), Al Toque Peruvian Restaurant (Franklin Blvd), Punta Cana Grill (Hamilton St.), Veggie Heaven (Hamilton St.), Yummy Yummy Chinese Food (Hamilton St.), Kennedy Fried Chicken (Hamilton St.), IHOP (NJ-27), and McDonald’s (Easton Ave.).
For the most up to date list of participating businesses visit: https://www.franklintwpnj.org/committees-commissions/environmental-commission/events-and-programs/skip-the-stuff.
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