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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 13a - Disposable Food Service Ware and Prohibiting PolystyreneDATE: October 19, 2021 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council FROM: Jason Kruckeberg, Assistant City Manager/Development Services Director By: Janessa Kalanjian, Administrative Assistant Jeramie Brogan, Office Coordinator SUBJECT: ORDINANCE NO. 2379 AMENDING THE ARCADIA MUNICIPAL CODE BY ADDING PART 4 TO ARTICLE V, CHAPTER 1 RELATING TO A PROHIBITION ON THE DISTRIBUTION OR SALE OF PREPARED FOOD OR BEVERAGES IN ANY POLYSTYRENE CONTAINER, AND ESTABLISHING AN OPT-IN REQUIREMENT FOR DISPOSABLE FOOD SERVICE WARE ITEMS FOR FOOD PROVIDERS AND THIRD-PARTY APP-BASED DELIVERY PLATFORMS Recommendation: Introduce SUMMARY At the request of City Council, the proposed Ordinance is intended to reduce the amount of plastic waste in the City by limiting the number of disposable items provided to customers with to-go meals and prohibiting the use of polystyrene containers citywide. The Ordinance mirrors plastic waste reduction initiatives already adopted by several neighboring cities including Alhambra, South Pasadena and Pasadena, and parallels Assembly Bill 1276 ("AB 1276"), signed into law on October 5, 2021, which will implement the opt-in requirement statewide effective June 1, 2022. Due to the newly established statewide regulations, it is recommended that the City Council introduce Ordinance No. 2379, amending the Arcadia Municipal Code by adding Part 4 to Article V, Chapter 1 relating only to the prohibition on the distribution or sale of prepared food in any polystyrene container. If the City Council also wishes to adopt a local regulation for disposable service ware items that is more specific that AB 1276, the attached Ordinance can be introduced without amendment. BACKGROUND At the City Council Meeting on May 4, 2021, Council Member Beck requested a future agenda item to discuss limiting the distribution of disposable food service ware items to by request only and prohibiting the use of polystyrene containers for prepared food and Ordinance No. 2379 - Disposable Food Service Ware and Prohibiting Polystyrene October 19, 2021 Page 2 of 6 beverage within the City. At the July 6, 2021, meeting, a staff report was presented outlining options for a future ordinance, and City Council directed staff to draft an ordinance to establish an opt-in requirement for disposable food service ware items, prohibit the use of polystyrene containers for prepared food and beverages citywide, and include a phase-in period of one year for enforcement. Disposable food service ware items like plastic utensils, straws, napkins, and condiment packets are not commonly recycled at most facilities due to their differing shapes and material contents. Because most individual utensils and packets are not labeled with their plastic content, it is difficult for customers to determine if they are recyclable. Restaurants often provide disposable items with to-go orders by default, but most items are discarded unused, or at best after a single use, inevitably ending up in landfills or polluting the waterways. During the COVID-19 pandemic, to-go food orders rapidly increased as indoor dining was halted. As a result, waste produced by food and beverage containers and accessory items increased. An easy to implement solution that will reduce waste and could reduce costs to restaurants is to provide accessory items to customers when they confirm they need them. By changing the habits of providers and customers, waste reducing actions such as only giving items that are needed eventually become regular practice and lead to less waste produced over time. Similar ordinances have been adopted by the Cities of Alhambra, Los Angeles, and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. AB 1276, which imposes the opt-in requirement statewide was signed by Governor Newsom on October 5, 2021, and will go into effect on June 1, 2022. The City ordinance is consistent with other neighboring cities and has been developed in consultation with the California Restaurant Association and Arcadia Chamber of Commerce. While the ordinance is in line with AB 1276, it is worth noting the two differences below: • AB 1276 excludes correctional facilities, health care facilities, residential care facilities, and school cafeterias. The proposed City ordinance includes these facilities, but they would be eligible to request a waiver for exemption. • Both the state law and the proposed ordinance would impose two warnings before assessing fees. The fee structure for AB 1276 is $25 for every subsequent violation following the second warning, with an annually maximum fine total of $300. The City’s ordinance has a fee structure that includes fines of $100 for the first violation following warnings, $200 for the second, and $500 for further violations. It should be noted, however, that the City intends to rely on education and information dissemination, rather than fines. The second part of the Ordinance has to do with Polystyrene, also known as “Styrofoam”, which is a type of plastic that can be manipulated in many ways and is commonly used Ordinance No. 2379 - Disposable Food Service Ware and Prohibiting Polystyrene October 19, 2021 Page 3 of 6 for food and beverage containers. Most recycling facilities do not process polystyrene. The polystyrene used for food containers is composed of 98% air, making it very light and easily carried by wind and water. It is often found littering streets and waterways, even when disposed of properly. Polystyrene breaks up into very small pieces, never fully biodegrades, and takes up to 500 years to decompose, remaining in landfills and waterways for long periods of time. Since polystyrene food containers contain a lot of air, they are inexpensive to produce and purchase, making them very convenient for restaurant use. Nearby Cities such as South Pasadena and Pasadena and others throughout California have already banned or restricted the use of polystyrene food containers in an effort to reduce their contribution of non-biodegradable waste. There are many alternatives to polystyrene including paper, aluminum, and bio-products manufactured from natural materials. Availability and cost vary depending on product composition, but many options at different costs are readily available. DISCUSSION In order to reduce the amount of waste produced by single use plastic food ware items and polystyrene containers, the proposed Ordinance would combine the opt-in requirement for disposable food service ware items with a ban on polystyrene containers used for prepared food and beverages. The Ordinance would apply to any food provider in the City, and third-party apps that facilitate and/or deliver to-go orders from food providers located within the City. Customers purchasing to-go food in-person from a food provider would not be automatically provided with utensils or other disposable food service ware items unless affirmatively requested. Customers utilizing a third-party app would be required to request these items during the online checkout process. Neither provision exempts employees from asking customers if they would like these items or offering them to customers at self- serve areas located within a restaurant or other applicable establishment. Polystyrene containers would be prohibited citywide, including all City facilities, with some exceptions as identified below. Both initiatives have been implemented in nearby cities and AB 1276 will implement the opt-in requirement statewide. If the City Council chooses to go forward with the local Ordinance, the Ordinance would include a two-phase implementation period introducing both terms over the course of one year. The opt-in requirement for food service ware items includes suggestions from the California Restaurant Association and contains similar language to ordinances adopted by the City of Alhambra and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. Similarly, the polystyrene ban follows those already in place in South Pasadena and Pasadena. The proposed Ordinance has been written with an emphasis on providing food providers within the community time to learn about and comply with the two components. Ordinance No. 2379 - Disposable Food Service Ware and Prohibiting Polystyrene October 19, 2021 Page 4 of 6 Implementation of Ordinance No. 2379 The City of Arcadia would implement the terms of the Ordinance in two phases over the course of one year, with the opt-in requirement for disposable food service ware items being enforced first as it is a more actionable change with no outright fiscal impacts, other than the potential to save business owners money by distributing less items. Phase One would be enforced 60 days following adoption and include: • Restricting food providers from distributing any food ware accessories such as utensils and napkins unless the customer affirmatively requests the items. • Requires third-party app-based food delivery platforms to include an option during the ordering process for customers to affirmatively request accessory items with their order. If the City Council chooses to simply rely on the AB 1276 and the statewide ban, Phase One would not be followed and the Ordinance would be restructured to only apply to polystyrene. Phase Two would be enforced one year following adoption and would: • Prohibit the use of polystyrene food containers throughout the City and require food providers to use containers made of alternative substances that are more environmentally friendly. Outreach and Education The goal of the proposed Ordinance is to promote long term habits that will reduce negative impacts on the environment. Education for the community and businesses in the City will be prioritized during the one-year phase in period. The City’s outreach effort will include, at a minimum, the following steps: • Coordination with the Arcadia Chamber of Commerce for outreach assistance and resources for business. • Letter to affected business owners explaining the Ordinance provisions, enforcement process, and relevant dates. • Flyers distributed to affected business owners with the key components of the Ordinance and suggestions to ease the transition and educate employees and customers. • Dedicated webpage on the Ordinance changes with helpful information and resources such as alternative packaging materials. Ordinance No. 2379 - Disposable Food Service Ware and Prohibiting Polystyrene October 19, 2021 Page 5 of 6 • Press releases, articles in City Hot Sheet distributed with water bills and any applicable City Newsletters informing the community of the Ordinance throughout the Phase-in period and prior to enforcement. Enforcement Outreach and education will be a primary focus before enforcement. City Staff will focus efforts on providing businesses with the tools needed to navigate the provisions of the Ordinance in a timely manner. By dividing the Ordinance into two phases with staggered enforcement times and focusing on outreach, businesses and the community alike will have the opportunity become familiar with the provisions before they become enforceable. Enforcement will be executed in a reasonable manner with a written warning Notice of Violation for the first two violations. Subsequent violations will result in fines of $100 for the first violation following warnings, $200 for the second, and $500 for further violations. As stated above, the focus is on education and information sharing, not on fines; however, fines may be necessary to gain compliance by some operators. Exemptions The Ordinance does not apply to food items packaged in polystyrene containers outside the City, polystyrene containers used for raw meat products, or for polystyrene containers required to be purchased under contract in the one-year period prior to enforcement of the Ordinance. Although it appears that the financial impact to local businesses would be minimal and enforcement would be delayed, the Ordinance accounts for cases where compliance with the polystyrene requirement would cause significant hardship to a local business, whether that be financially or due to lack of an acceptable alternative packaging. If it is determined that an exemption is warranted, the business owner would be required to submit an application to the Development Services Department along with sufficient evidence to justify non-compliance. Approved exemptions would be allowed for a period of one-year, with the option of extension at the discretion of the Development Services Director. Options The passage of AB 1276 has provided several options related to this Staff Report and the associated Ordinance. The City Council could opt to rely on AB 1276 and the State’s timeline and applicability OR the Council could move forward with the opt-in requirement locally. As stated above, the only significant differences are that the proposed local Ordinance is more broadly written and would apply to school cafeterias and health care facilities. Although the proposed Ordinance has an opt-out clause, it is recommended that the City Council rely on the statewide law and not duplicate the law locally. Adding an extra layer of regulation into this issue may lead to unnecessary confusion and complication as the laws are enforced. Ordinance No. 2379 - Disposable Food Service Ware and Prohibiting Polystyrene October 19, 2021 Page 6 of 6 Therefore, it is recommended to only introduce the portion of the proposed Ordinance related to the polystyrene prohibition. If this is the City Council direction, a revised Ordinance will be returned at the following meeting to reflect the edits. If the City Council wishes to move forward with the Ordinance in its entirety as originally contemplated, the attached document can be introduced at this meeting. ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS This Ordinance is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) (the activity will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment) and 15060(c)(3) (the activity is not a project as defined in Section 15378) of the CEQA Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Chapter 3, because it has no potential for resulting in physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly. FISCAL IMPACT There is no direct anticipated fiscal impact as a result of implementing such a measure. Any related costs such as changing to more environmentally friendly packaging materials for City functions and Departments would be incidental and covered under the normal operating budget. Sufficient funding exists in the current budget to cover printing costs and staff time for outreach efforts. RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that the City Council introduce Ordinance No. 2379 amending the Arcadia Municipal Code by adding Part 4 to Article V, Chapter 1 relating to a prohibition on the distribution or sale of prepared food or beverages in any polystyrene container and establishing an opt-in requirement for disposable food service ware items for food providers and third-party app-based delivery platforms. Attachments: Ordinance No. 2379 AB 1276