State Bill Would Ban Disposable Cups for Dine-In Customers

Such disposable tableware produced more than 500,000 tons of waste in 2021, according to CalRecycle, which oversees the state’s waste management and recycling.

Various sizes of soft drink cups sit on a beverage dispenser in a fast food restaurant in New York on Sept. 29, 2015. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

A California legislator is proposing to ban restaurants from giving disposable cups to dine-in customers as a way to reduce waste.

“California has a massive plastic waste problem, and if we are serious about protecting our environment and living sustainably, we must reduce it across the board,” said bill author Sen. Catherine Blakespear in a news release Feb. 14. “[It] is a simple, sensible step to reduce waste coming from restaurants.”