Colorado Democrats Want America To Know What Really Matters, … Paper Napkins
It’s nice to know that the Democrats in Colorado have their priorities straight. There are endless things that should concern them, but two of them have decided that the best way to spend their time and waste taxpayers’ money is to focus their efforts on the ever-present danger of getting an extra paper napkin, condiment, or plastic utensil.
That’s right, Democratic Colorado State Senator Lisa Cutter and Democratic Colorado State Representative Meg Froelich introduced the legislation on March 24. If passed, it will take effect at the start of 2027.
As unbelievable as it sounds, these two have proposed legislation to restrict restaurants’ ability to provide complimentary napkins, utensils, and condiments to customers in the name of protecting the environment.
Bill SB26-146 would prohibit retail food establishments and third-party food delivery services from providing single-use food service ware to customers unless the customer specifically requests or confirms that they want it, according to the bill’s text.
According to the bill, “single-use serviceware” is defined as an item that “a retail food establishment or third-party food delivery service provides to a customer to assist the customer in food … designed to be used once and then discarded.”
The bill specifically covers non-food items such as napkins, utensils, condiments, and straws, among others.
If this were elementary school or junior high, these two nerds would be known as squealers or snitches. Some people never grow out of it; these are two living, breathing examples of busybodies who have nothing better to do than to look for reasons to torture small businesses for trivial reasons.
In this case, the bill’s text purports that customers “are increasingly frustrated with the amount of single-use items they receive with food-service orders,” adding that most of these items “are not recyclable or compostable, yet they are commonly placed in recycling and compost streams, becoming contaminants.”
Right, the only people who would complain about something as minor as that would be geeks like Cutter and Froelich. I doubt that their phone lines are getting jammed with people complaining about getting an extra plastic fork and knife or an extra creamer.
According to the people who waste more money in a day than most Americans do in a lifetime:
“A statewide requirement for retail food establishments to ask before providing single-use food serviceware, including single-use condiments, will reduce the amount of unwanted items provided to customers, reduce plastic waste, and save food retailers hundreds or thousands of dollars per year.”
Cutter and Froelich’s legislation aims to expand Colorado’s Plastic Pollution Reduction Act, a law that prohibits establishments from providing plastic bags, which was passed by the Democratic-dominated state legislature in 2021 and took effect in 2024. Cutter, who was a state representative at the time, was one of the sponsors of the legislation passed in 2021.
The Plastic Pollution Reduction Act clearly allows a county to impose a civil penalty on a store or retail food establishment. For a second violation, the penalty can be up to $500, and for a third or subsequent violation, it can be up to $1,000, according to the summary on the Colorado General Assembly’s website.
Pretty steep penalties for companies over some plastic silverware or napkins, because a few dweebs don’t like it.
Not everyone agrees with this nonsense. Former Colorado Republican Party Chair Kristi Burton Brown criticized the newly introduced SB26-146 as “ridiculous” and labeled it a “napkin ban” in a post on X.
“If this passes, your local Taco Bell can be fined up to $1,000 for giving you a napkin with your order if you didn’t request it.”
“Oh, and Taco Bell is also banned from giving you hot sauce packets if you didn’t ask or confirm you wanted them. But pho restaurants will get no penalty for giving you hoisin sauce packets.”
“Arby’s sauce is also ok, but your local coffee shop’s creamer or sweetener will be subject to the fine. The bill sponsors chose to make a list of which condiments can’t be given out without being requested, and they clearly don’t frequent certain types of restaurants.”
The new bill’s text specifies that condiments subject to the bill include:
“Ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, creamer, butter, soy sauce, hot sauce, salsa, syrup, jam, jelly, sugar, salt, pepper, sweetener, or chili pepper.”
“Oh yes, they’re also banning cup sleeves on hot coffee unless you ask. So, feel free to burn your hands in the name of saving the planet.”
“If Door Dash doesn’t “clearly” communicate what utensils and sauces you want to the restaurant, and the restaurant packs a single unwanted napkin for you, Door Dash, and the restaurant can be fined up to $1,000. Socialist rule at its finest.”
It was good that someone in Burton Brown’s position clarified some of the selective rubbish this bill contains. The Daily Caller News Foundation reached out to her for further comment, but she did not immediately respond.
The text of the 2021 law states:
“Limiting the use of single-use plastic carryout bags and expanded polystyrene products will help reduce the harmful effects that disposing of these items in our landfills has on our state’s natural resources and environment.”
A representative for Democratic Colorado Gov. Jared Polis did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller’s request about what he plans to do if the bill reaches his desk. Representatives for Cutter and Froelich also did not respond.
The disappointing reality for Colorado residents is that their representatives prioritize issues like this. After all, isn’t getting an extra Taco Bell hot sauce packet what keeps you up at night?
Me either.
