HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 206-10TO: HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL (!)
FROM: CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: PUBLIC WORKS
DATE: APRIL 19, 2010 CMR:206:10
REPORT TYPE: INFORMATION
SUBJECT: Staff Update Regarding April 22, 2010 Effective Date for Ordinance
Restricting Food Vendors' Use of Expanded Polystyrene
SUMMARY
On Earth Day2010 (April 22, 2010) Palo Alto's Ordinance to restrict food vendors from providing
prepared food in disposable food service containers made from expanded polystyrene or non
recyclable plastic goes into effect. The Ordinance, adopted on May 11, 2009, is primarily intended
to reduce the negative environmental impacts of expanded polystyrene food service containers,
which become a very persistent and mobiksource of litter to local creeks and marine ecosystems
when improperly disposed.
BACKGROUND
Expanded polystyrene foam presents unique management issues because it is lightweight, floats,
resists biodegradation, and easily breaks into smaller pieces. These small pieces can be ingested by
marine wildlife, leading to reduced appetite and nutrient absorption and possible death by
starvation. According to a United Nations Environment Global Program of Action Study, at least
162 marine species including most seabirds are reported to have eaten plastics and other litter.
Although expanded polystyrene is considered an inexpensive and effective product, it has many
drawbacks and hidden costs which are deferred to the public and the environment. Food service
polystyrene is a one-time use product that degrades extremely slowly in nature. Expanded
polystyrene litter is not easily contained and is often conveyed to local creeks, the San Francisco Bay
and the Pacific Ocean. Expanded polystyrene waste constitutes 15% of the litter collected in storm
drains, and is the second most abundant type of marine debris according to a 2004 California
Integrated Waste Management Board Study.
On February 11, 2009, the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board listed many
Bay Area creeks as having water quality that is impaired by trash, as defined by the Clean Water Act.
The accompanying staff report identified expanded polystyrene as one of the types of trash
responsible for the impairment.
CMR:206:10 Page 1 of3
The primary goal of the Ordinance is to restrict food vendor use of expanded polystyrene disposable
food service containers and to create a shift to multiple-use containers where possible. Where
multiple-use containers are not viable, the desired shift is to recyclable plastic or fiber (paper)
containers.
Summary of Ordinance
The definition of Food Vendor contained in the Ordinance is broader than traditional food service
establishments and includes retail food vendors, cafeterias, sidewalk and other outdoor food vendors,
food vehicles, and caterers. Foods that are prepared or packaged outside of the City of Palo Alto are
exempt. The food service container restriction is limited to containers used for prepared and ready
to-consume food, and does not apply to single-use disposable straws, utensils, or hot cup lids. The
Ordinance also prohibits the use of expanded polystyrene or non-recyclable plastic food service
containers at City facilities, City managed concessions, City sponsored events, and City permitted
events. Food vendors are required to comply on April 22, 2010; but the City may grant exceptions
on a case by case basis exempting a vendor from compliance up to one year based on undue hardship
in certain specific situations. No food vendors have applied for an exemption, to date.
How many food seryice establishments are impacted?
Extrapolating from a survey of 118 Palo Alto Food Vendors, staff estimated that approximately 30%
of all Palo Alto Food Vendors (approximately 400 facilities) use expanded polystyrene or non
recyclable plastic food service containers.
Outreach to Restaurants
In October 2009, City staff sent 376 letters to food service establishments informing them about the
adoption of the Ordinance and included a complete copy of the Ordinance. On April 1 st, City staff
sent a reminder postcard to food service establishments reminding them of the Ordinance's effective
date. A second postcard will be sent to food service establishments on April 21 st reminding them
that expanded polystyrene and non-recyclable food service containers are now restricted as of
April 22, 2010. To date, City staff has not received any responses from the food vendors.
RESOURCE IMPACT
No impact to the refuse fund.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Approval of staff's update does not meet the definition of a "proj ect" pursuant to Section 21065 of
the Public Resources Code, thus CEQ A reviews is not required. Previously on May 11, 2009, City
Council approved a Negative Declaration which confirmed that the Ordinance does not have the
potential to result in significant impact on the environment.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Ordinance
Attachment B: Reminder postcard to food service establishments
CMR:206:10 Page 2 of3
PREPARED BY:
DEPARTMENT HEAD:
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
CMR:206:10
KARIN D. NORTH
Associate Engineer . .
.~JJi:j---
GLENN S. ROBERTS
Director 0 blic Wor
Page 3 of3
ATTACHMENT A
Ordinance No. 5039
Ordinance of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Repealing
Chapter 5.30 (''Chlorofluorocarbon -Processed Food
Packaging") and Adding a New Chapter 5.30 ("Expanded
Polystyrene and Non-Recyclable Food Service Containers") to
Title 5 ("Health and Sanitation") of the Palo Alto Municipal
Code
The Council of the City of Palo Alto does ORDAIN as follows:
SECTION 1. Findings and purpose. The Council finds and declares as follows:
(a) The prevalent use of polystyrene as a food service container product is increasing,
largely bolstered by its affordability; however, production costs continue to rise due
to increasing crude oil prices. While the California Integrated Waste Management
Board (CIWMB) estimates that Californians use 165,000 tons of polystyrene each
year for packaging and food service purposes alone, there is currently no
economically feasible means of recycling the product in the City of Palo Alto.
According to a 2000 CIWMB study only 0.2% of polystyrene food service
packaging is recycled statewide.
(b) There are two types of polystyrene commonly used as food service containers:
oriented polystyrene (clear and rigid) and expanded polystyrene (opaque foam). The
Palo Alto community throws away approximately 305 tons of expanded polystyrene
containers each year, according to a Palo Alto Waste Composition Study conducted
in May 2006. The Palo Alto Recycling. Center has never been able to accept
expanded polystyrene food service containers, and expanded polystyrene food
service containers are not compatible with the new commercial composting service
that commences on July 1,2009.
(c) On January 12, 2009, the Palo Alto Recycling Center stopped accepting expanded
polystyrene peanuts and expanded polystyrene blocks commonly used for consumer
goods packaging. Expanded polystyrene peanuts and. expanded polystyrene blocks
are cOnsidered to be more amenable to recycling than expanded polystyrene food
service containers. Ongoing logistical and quality control challenges related to the
minimal recycling market for expanded polystyrene. make even the recycling
program for peanuts and blocks infeasible. All expanded polystyrene materials must
now be disposed of in a landfill.
(d) Although expanded polystyrene is considered an inexpensive and effective product, it
has many drawbacks and hidden costs which are deferred to the public and the
environment. Food service polystyrene is a one-time use product that degrades
extremely slowly in nature. Expanded polystyrene litter is not easily contained and is
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090512 sY1l6050S39
often conveyed through stonn drains to local creeks, the San Francisco Bay and the
Pacific Ocean. Polystyrene waste constitutes 15% of the litter collected in stotm
drains, and is the second most abundant type of marine debris according to a 2004
CIWMB study.
(e) Expanded polystyrene foam presents unique management issues because it is
lightweight, floats, resists biodegradation, and easily breaks into smaller pieces.
These small pieces, similar in size to plankton, are ingested by marine wildlife,
leading to reduced appetite and nutrient absorption and possible death by starvation.
According to a United Nations Environment Global Program of Action study, at least
162 marine species including most seabirds are reported to have eaten plastics and
other litter. . ,
(t) On February 11, 2009, the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board
listed two Palo Alto creeks, Sari. Francisquito Creek and Matadero Creek, as having
water quality that is impaired by trash, as defined by the Clean Water Act. The staff
report recommending that tlJ,e creeks be listed identifies expanded polystyrene M
being one of the types of trash responsible for the impairment.
(g) Both of the major chemicals used to produce expanded polystyrene, Benzene (a
known human carcinogen) and Styrene (a possible carcinogen and neurotoxin), are
suspected by the EPA and FDA to leach from polystyrene food containers, posing a
threat to the environment and human health.
(h) The City of Palo Alto desires to protect the natural environment, the health of its
citizens, and the economy. This includes exercising environmental stewardship by
reducing the amount of expanded polystyrene and non-recyclable plastic released into
the City's ecosystem and beyond.
(i) Non-recyclable materials pose a challenge to any environmentally and fiscally
responsible solid waste management program. Regulation of food packaging is
necessary to encourage a recyclable waste stream and to reduce the disposal of solid
waste and the economic and environmental costs of waste management.
0) It is the intent of the Council to reduce the negative impacts of expanded polystyrene
food service containers and encourage the use of recyclable alternatives through the
implementation of this Ordinance.
SECTION 2. Chapter 5.30 (Chlorofluorocarbon -Processed Food Packaging) of the
Palo Alto Municipal Code is hereby repealed in its entirety and a new Chapter 5.30 is added to
read as follows:
II
/I
II
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Chapter 5.30
EXPANDED POLYSTYRENE AND NON-RECYCLABLE FOOD SERVICE
CONTAINERS
Sections:
5.30.010
5.30.020
5.30.030
5.30.040
5.30.050
5.30.060
5.30.070
5.30.010
Definitions
Prohibitions on the Use of Expanded Polystyrene and Non-Recyclable Plastic
Exemptions
Operative Dates
Severability
Penalties
Construction and Preemption
Definitions.
(a) "City facilities" refers to any building, structure or vehicle owned or operated by the
City of Palo Alto, its agents, departments and franchises.
(b) ''Disposable food service container" means single-use disposable product used by
food vendors for serving or transporting prepared and ready-to-consume food or
beverages. This includes but is not limited to plates, cups, bowls, lids, trays and
hinged or lidded containers. This does not include single-use disposable straws,
utensils, or hot cup lids.
.
(c) "Expanded Polystyrene" -means a thennoplastic petrochemical material utilizing the
styrene monomer, marked with recycling symbol #6, processed by any number of
techniques including, but not limited to, fusion of polymer spheres (expandable bead
polystyrene), injection molding, form molding, and extrusion-blow molding
(extruded foam polystyrene), sometimes incorrectly called Styrofoam®, a Dow
Chemical Company trademarked fonn of polystyrene foam insulation. In food
service, expanded polystyrene is generally used to make cups, bowls, plates, and
trays.
(d) "Food vendor" ineans any establishment, located or providing food within the City of
Palo Alto, which provides prepared and ready-to-consume food or beverages, for
public consumption including but not limited to any store, supennarket, delicatessen,
restaurant, retail food vendor, sales outlet, shop, cafeteria, catering truck or vehicle,
sidewalk or other outdoor vendor, or caterer.
(e) ''Non-Recyclable Plastic" means all plastics that do not meet the definition of
"Recyclable Plastic".
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090512 syn 60505~9
(t) "Prepared food" means any food or beverage prepared for consumption using any
cooking, packaging, or food preparation technique, including but not limited to
cooking, chopping, slicing, mixing, freezing, squeezing, or brewing, and which
requires no further preparation to be consumed. Prepared food includes uncooked
fruits or vegetables and any "take-out" food, or food consumed off the food vendor's
premises. Prepared food does not include any uncooked meat, fish, poultry, or eggs.
(g) "Recyclable Plastic" means all plastics that can be recycled, salvaged, compostoo,
processed, or marketed by any means other than land-filling or burning, whether as
fuel or otherwise, so that they are returned to use by society. Recyclable plastics
include any plastic which can be feasibly recycled by the City's municipal recycling
program and presently is limited to those plastics With the following recycling
symbols: #1 -polyethyleneterephthalate (PET or PETE), #2 -' high density
polyethylene (HDPE), #3 -polyvinyl chloride (PVC), #4 -low density polyethylene
(LDPE), #5 -polypropylene (PP), #6 -polystyrene, exCept for the expanded version
of polystyrene, and #7 -other plastics, including compostable plastics such as
polylactic acid (PLA) For purposes of this Chapter, Recyclable Plastic does not
include expanded polystyrene labeled with recycling symbol #6.
5.30.020 Prohibition on the Use of Polystyrene and Non-Recyd~ble Plastic.
(a) Except as provided by section 5.30.030 food vendors are prohibited from providing
prepared food in disposable food service containers made from expanded polystyrene
or non-recyclable plastic.
(b) . Except as provided by section 5.30.030 all City facilities, City managed concessions,
City sponsored events, and City pennitted events are prohibited from using
disposable food service containers made from expanded polystyrene or non
recyclable plastic.
( c) Nothing in this Ordinance shall be interpreted to restrict the use of any fonn of fiber or.
paper disposable food service container, or the use of any fonn of biodegradable or
compostable plastic food service container that meets the definition of Recyclable
Plastic, in Section 5.30.010(g).
5.30.030 Exemptions
(a) Foods prepared or packaged outside the City of Palo Alto are exempt from the
provisions of this Chapter. Purveyors of food prepared or packaged outside the City
of Palo Alto are encouraged to follow the provisions of this Chapter.
(b) Coolers and ice chests that are intended for reuse are exempt from the provisions of
this Chapter:
( c) The director of Public Works, or hislher designee, may exempt a food vendor from
the requirements of this Ordinance for a period of one year, upon showing by the
food vendor that the conditions of this Ordinance would cause an undue hardship. An
''undue hardship" includes, but is not limited to situations unique to the food vendor
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090512 syn 6050539
where there are no reasonable alternatives to expanded polystyrene or non-recyclable
plastic disposable food service containers and compliance with this Ordinance would
cause significant economic hardship to that food vendor, or cause the food vendor to
be deprived of a legally protected right.
(d) A food vendor seeking an exemption application shall include all information
necessary for the City to make its decision, including but not limited to
documentation showing the factual support for the claimed exemption. The Director
may require the applicant to provide additional infonnation to pennit the Director to
determine facts regarding the exemption application.
(e) Emergency Supplies and Service Procurement. City facilities, food vendors, City
franchises, contractors and vendors doing business with the City shall be exempt
from the provisions of this chapter, in a situation deemed by the City Manager to be
an emergency for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health or safety.
5.30.040 Operative Dates.
All food vendors and City facilities must comply with the requirements of this
Ordinance by April 22, 2010. '
5.35.050 Severability.
If any provision or clause of this chapter is held to be unconstitutional or otherwise
invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction, such invalidity shall not affect other proVisions of
this chapter, and clauses of this chapter are declared to be severable.
5.35.060 Penalties
(a) Anyone violating ~r failing to comply with any of the requirements of this Chapter
shall be guilty of an infraction as set forth in Chapter 1.08 of the Palo Alto Municipal
Code.
(b) Each and every sale or other transfer of disposable food service containers made
from expanded polystyrene or non-recyclable plastic shall constitute a separate
violation of this Ordinance.
(c) The remedies and penalties provided in this Section are cumulative and not
exclusive.
5.35.070 Construction and Preemption
This Chapter and any of its provisions shall be null and void upon the adoption of
any state or federa1law or regulation imposing the same, or essentially the same, limits on the
use of prohibited products as set forth in this Chapter. This Chapter is intended to be a proper
exercise of the City's police power, to operate only upon its own officers, agents, employees and
facilities and other persons acting within its boundaries, and not to regulate inter-city or interstate
commerce. It shall be construed in accordance with that intent.
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090512 syn 6050539
· .
SECTION 3. The City Council finds that the adoption of this Ordinance is subject to
environmental review under provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
under Section 15070 of the CEQA Guidelines, ("Decision to Prepare a Negative or Mitigated
Negative Declaration"). The Department of Planning and Community Environment prepared an
Initial Study for this Ordinance, which confinned that the Ordinance does not have the potential
to result in a significant impact on the environment. Consequently, a Negative Declaration was
prepared, made available for public review beginning August 29, 2008 through September 17,
2008 and is hereby adopted.
SECTION 41 This ordinance shall be effective on the thirty-first day after the date of
its adoption.
INTRODUCED: APRIL 27, 2009
PASSED: MAY 11,2009
AYES: BARTON, BURT, DREKMEIER, ESPINOSA, KI~HIMOTO, KLEIN,
SCHMID, YEH
NOES:
ABSENT: MORTON
ABSTENTIONS:
Mayor
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
,~w. /!xhL--w. Deputy Cl Attorney
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090512 syn 6050539
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