The Right to Refill Act
Cantara: 1-800-LAW-1010, 1800LAW1010.com
Quinn: From Martin, Harding & Mazzotti, it’s Attorney Cassandra Kazukenus on the phone. Did you bring your tupperware for this phone interview?
Cassandra: I mean, you know, I just got into the office, I do have my lunch in a tupperware.
Cantara: Okay.
Quinn: Yeah, but it’s not like stained red and it doesn’t have like stickers on it.
Cantara: It’s not dirty tupperware is it? It’s not an old Cool Whip container is it?
Cassandra: No, it’s new because for some reason we can’t seem to keep tupperware in our house, I don’t know what ghost is involved in it and the wanna take…
Quinn: You must be married to Cantara.
Cantara: When my wife goes away Cassandra, I throw out all the tupperware because we don’t need that much tupperware.
Cassandra: Well it’s like the one sock I can’t find too.
Quinn: I’m glad to hear that happens to intelligent people too. So I guess there was new legislation proposed yesterday that would allow New Yorkers to bring reusable containers to restaurants to take leftovers home, it’s all in an effort to cut plastic. Right now it’s not against the law to bring a tupperware container, but if this goes through then a restaurant can’t deny me from bringing my own tupperware, is that how it works?
Cantara: Right now the restaurant’s in charge right?
Cassandra: Yeah, that’s what it looks like, is that currently right now the restaurant’s have the power over whether they allow the practice or not, this is just taking away the ability to have that power it seems, you know, I guess it seems like a good idea in practice but I don’t know how useful it will be, I can’t remember my plastic bags for the grocery store, which I need to start doing or my reusable bag for the grocery store, which I need to start doing.
Quinn: I just feel like, well, first of all, I don’t know if we need a law, I think we could probably just, restaurants could just agree to do this.
Cantara: We need laws.
Cassandra: Agreed.
Quinn: I feel like, I’m going out to a nice dinner and I’m getting away from everything at home, that’s why I went out to dinner and I look over and there’s some dude with some schleppy, dirty tupperware trying to cram in the steak and the cheesecake in the same container, I just, it kind of ruins my experience.
Cantara: Is it the combination of the steak and the cheesecake or is it just the fact that it’s annoying?
Quinn: And I don’t have a pizza box, so I’ve got to stack up pizza and it’s…
Cantara: Aw man, get a little slice, say you get something in Saratoga, Cantara’s got some sort of lamb leg that’s $35 and you can’t eat it and you want to take it home.
Quinn: I just feel like maybe this is government over-reach here, what do you think, Cassandra?
Cassandra: I think new York and California strive to be the first ones to enact legislation on everything.
Quinn: I mean we just dealt with the whole straw thing.
Cantara: Right. We haven’t even touched legalizing marijuana yet.
Quinn: I don’t even know where to go with this, I guess, so what happens, does actual politicians who take tax payer money waste time and vote on this?
Cassandra: I think, what the issue and the situation is, is that these are easy wins that don’t actually have that much controversy because it’s not that hard to enact and people care about this stuff because they should. Look at all the fires going on in California and…we had taken my son to North Carolina last summer, we went to the Sea Turtle Sanctuary so now he’s just obsessed with whether there’s straws and plastic in the ocean.
Quinn: We’re going to that big island of garbage out there in the South Pacific next year, I can’t wait.
Cantara: For vacation.
Quinn: Yeah, bring the whole family. So if this becomes a law, would restaurants be allowed to provide containers in case I forgot one?
Cassandra: I mean, I don’t see anything that would prohibit it but doesn’t it seem like it’s just putting more and more…how are restaurants going to survive if they keep having to change all of these things and….
Cantara: No, but you’re right though.
Quinn: They’re not equipped, small mom and pop restaurants aren’t equipped to follow all of this red tape and then provide Tupperware for everybody, that’s why they use one single-use containers, they’re cheap.
Cantara: I feel.
Quinn: But you just paid for a product, it’s almost like, if you don’t have your bag, you’ve got to carry it in your pocket or leave it. Or you’ve got to force feed yourself.
Cantara: What if I order take out and I go pick up my pizza, I’ve got to bring my own box?
Cassandra: That was my question, I didn’t see anything dealing with take out.
Quinn: Right, like if I were to…so maybe I’ll just order take out and then sit down at a table.
Cassandra: Well doesn’t it seem like take out’s the bigger issue right now? Especially with Uber Eats, and GrubHub and all of those?
Cantara: And why when I pull up to a drive through at a fast food place, why they give it to me in a bag? I don’t need a bag.
Quinn: That’s a good point, but if you go pick up lunch at McDonalds for the office you’re going to have to bring your own whopper boxes.
Cantara: I’m going to be the bad guy because I’ve got a bag full of food.
Quinn: I mean I get where they’re going with this.
Cantara: No, we’re being funny, but it is a good point.
Quinn: I just see like this is a lot. And then the other thing is, okay, we cut down on plastic, maybe but there are guys like me that will refuse to carry Tupperware into an establishment, therefore I’ll be wasting food.
Cassandra: Well maybe then your portions are getting smaller and now we’re going to fight the obesity epidemic, I have no idea.
Quinn: Well then that’s a good thing.
Cantara: Then there are guys like me who even if I can’t finish my meal will feel guilt and shame and I will shove it down and I will go home and feel depressed.
Quinn: Right to Refill Act was introduced by Jen Metzger of Ulster County, a Democrat.
Cantara: Listen, there’s too much plastic out there, we know because it’s in everything we breathe, everything we eat, I get it. Can we find, I don’t know. Can we find a recyclable that doesn’t break down like plastic?
Quinn: That would be nice, like they make the soap that does that, why can’t they make the plastic that does that, anyways.
Cantara: I don’t know if we’ve achieved anything but it was fun having you on.
Cassandra: Well thanks, Paul mentioned I should come into the studio next time.
Quinn:You should!
Cantara: Feel free, we’re right across the street from you.
Cassandra: I know.
Quinn: All right, Cassandra Kazukenus from Martin, Harding & Mazzotti on the Right to Refill Act.
Cantara: 1-800-LAW-1010, 1800LAW1010.com
Quinn: What’s for lunch, what’d you bring for lunch today?
Cassandra: A Honey Sriracha Turkey Meatball, Quinoa and Broccoli.
Quinn: Oh, you are perfect, that’s great, you’re so good.
Cantara: Yeah, what’d you bring for lunch Quinn?
Quinn: I didn’t bring lunch, I went and got a Diet Coke this morning and I’ll probably eat maybe a spider doughnut from Dunkin in a couple hours. Yeah, I don’t even need any plastic for that.
Cantara: Thanks so much Cassandra.
Cassandra: All right, thank you.
Announcer: Quinn and Cantara in the morning. Classic Rock all day on PYX106.