RCW 70A.245 requires food service businesses statewide to provide single-use utensils, straws, condiment packets, and beverage lids only when customers ask or affirmatively select them. The rule applies to dine-in, takeout, delivery, and drive-through orders countywide.
Washington's plastic products law, effective January 1, 2022, makes single-use serviceware available by customer request only. Restaurants, delis, food trucks, hospitals, and delivery platforms in King County must not bundle utensils, plastic straws, stirrers, cocktail picks, condiment packets, or cup lids unless the customer asks or selects them through an online order interface. Drive-through windows must ask before adding items. The intent is to reduce waste and litter. Many cities including Seattle layered additional foodware fees and compostable requirements on top of the state baseline.
Operators that automatically include single-use accessories may receive Department of Ecology warnings, civil penalties up to 250 dollars per day, and city-level foodware citations in jurisdictions like Seattle.
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See how Seattle's utensils-on-request rules stack up against other locations.
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