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Visitor urges plastic-reduction and construction-dust rules; council notes existing 'Skip the Stuff' ordinance
Summary
A nonresident and former reporter urged Long Branch to adopt or strengthen plastic- and construction-related ordinances; the council was told a local 'Skip the Stuff' ordinance already exists.
Brian Thompson, who identified himself as a Monmouth Beach resident and former NBC New York reporter, urged the Long Branch council to pursue local ordinances to reduce single-use plastic utensils (‘Skip the Stuff’), adopt construction containment dust rules and consider extended producer responsibility (EPR) or packaging-reduction measures.
Thompson described 'Skip the Stuff' as a policy under which customers must request single-use utensils. He cited a survey from Red Bank reporting a 94% reduction in utensil distribution after that borough adopted the measure. During the meeting Mayor Palone and council staff noted that Long Branch already has a local 'Skip the Stuff' provision (cited in the meeting as section 111-6), which limits distribution of single-use plastic straws and applies to utensils; Thompson acknowledged he was not aware of that and praised the city's action. Thompson also urged the council to consider construction dust containment rules and EPR/packaging-reduction approaches to lower tipping fees and reduce waste costs.
The council thanked Thompson for his suggestions; the mayor said staff would review the materials he provided. No new ordinance was introduced during the March 26 meeting.
