Plastic forks, Styrofoam cups, Straws. All things that did not exist when the USA was founded. Metal, Wood, Cloth. Those were our previous more costly options. Now that we have invented a cheap lightweight alternative, we have used it everywhere we can.

Now that we are a far fling from the 1960’s plastic boom, we know it is not being recycled. It goes into landfills, our oceans, our testicles as microplastics, and sold to other countries to process. It is not a long term solution for America, or the earth. A bunch of lazy, brainwashed plastic bootlickers will say “We have to have plastic forks! I can’t go on without my plastic straw!”. These people are morons who are too lazy to lift a cup to their face, or wash a fork.

We can take containers with us to grocery stores, and fill them up like all of society used too. If I go purchase a coffee cup from my local spot, they use plastic lids. My local Mexican spot always include plastic forks on pickup, even if I ask them not too. If I want to participate in society by innocuous things, like buying a gallon of milk, or grapes, I am now forced to produce plastic.

This needs to end.

Let’s fix that, by eliminating single use plastics, and a rollout to other disposable plastics in retail packaging over a 2 year plan.

PURPOSE:

The Cutting Unnecessary Plastics Act (CUP) aims to end America’s dependence on cheap, disposable plastics that are poisoning our ecosystems, overwhelming our landfills, and entering our bodies as microplastics. These single-use items — straws, bags, utensils, and foam containers — were never meant to be permanent fixtures in our lives. They’re a product of corporate convenience and public neglect, not necessity. It’s time to return to durable, reusable systems that served us well for centuries before the plastic boom.

This bill creates a two-phase rollout after passage. Phase One eliminates the manufacture and distribution of common single-use plastic items within 6 months. Phase Two targets plastic retail packaging, and a complete transition to compostable by Year 2. The Environmental Protection Agency will oversee the transition, with clear guidance, exemptions for medical use, and support for businesses adapting to the new standard.

SECTION 1: Plastic Ban Phase One — Single-Use Consumer Items

Effective 6 months after passing.

• The manufacture, import, sale, and distribution of the following items are banned in the United States:

  • Plastic utensils (forks, knives, spoons)

  • Plastic straws

  • Plastic carryout bags

  • Styrofoam cups, bowls, and takeout containers

Exemptions:

• Items used in medical settings or emergencies, as defined and regulated by the EPA.

SECTION 2: Plastic Ban Phase Two — Retail & Food Packaging

Effective 2 years after passing:

• A mandatory reduction in non-essential plastic retail packaging begins. This includes:

  • Excessive clamshell packaging

  • Plastic-wrapped produce

  • Single-use drink bottles (with exemptions for essential goods like medical nutrition or emergency rations)

  • all retail packaging must be non-toxic and free from plastics like BPA, polystyrene, and petroleum-based polymers

SECTION 3: ENFORCEMENT & PENALTIES

• Oversight and enforcement by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

• Fines:

  • Up to $10,000 per violation for corporations

  • Up to $1,000 per violation for small businesses

SECTION 4: EFFECTIVE DATE

• This Act becomes law upon passage.

• Section 1 enforcement begins 6 months after the bill is passed.

• Section 2 rollout begins  2 Years after the bill is passed

I’m not a lawyer, and this isn’t finalized legislative language — but I’m also not waiting around for someone else to write what’s clearly overdue. We need more single issue, readable bills.

These are serious drafts from someone running for Congress who believes voters deserve more than slogans and vague promises. And yes, once elected, I’ll work with the Office of Legislative Counsel, the Congressional Research Service, and policy experts to refine every section into fully enforceable law. That’s what they’re there for.

But make no mistake — the intent, urgency, and direction are already here.