HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 6496
CITY OF PALO ALTO OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK
January 11, 2016
The Honorable City Council
Palo Alto, California
SECOND READING: Adoption of an Ordinance Re-Titling and Amending
Municipal Code Chapter 5.30 (Plastic Foam and Non-Recyclable Food
Service Containers and Packaging Items) to Prohibit Sale of Non-
Recyclable Plastic Foam at Retail Establishments Such as Grocery
Stores, Pharmacies, Mail Service Stores and Hardware Stores (FIRST
READING: December 7, 2015 PASSED: 7-0 Scharff not participating,
Burt absent)
This Ordinance was first heard by Council on December 7, 2015. Below is the action taken by
the City Council, adopting the first reading of the Ordinance. Attached you will find the
Ordinance.
Consent Calendar
Adoption of an Ordinance Re-Titling and Amending Municipal Code Chapter 5.30 (Plastic Foam
and Non-Recyclable Food Service Containers and Packaging Items) to Prohibit Sale of Non-
Recyclable Plastic Foam at Retail Establishments Such as Grocery Stores, Pharmacies, Mail
Service Stores and Hardware Stores.
MOTION: Council Member Kniss moved, seconded by Vice Mayor Schmid to approve Agenda
Item Numbers 3-9 and continue Agenda Item Number 10- Approval of Amendment Number
Three to the Palo Alto-Stanford Fire Protection Agreement… to December 14, 2015.
MOTION PASSED: 7-0 Scharff not participating, Burt absent
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment A: Plastic Service Containers and Packaging Items Ordinance (PDF)
Department Head: Beth Minor, City Clerk
Page 2
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Ordinance No. ______
Ordinance of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Amending 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 City of Palo Alto is charged with eliminating litter which passes through the
storm drain system to no adverse impact by 2022 as part of the Municipal Regional Stormwater
Permit.
(b) The City is charged with achieving Zero Waste by 2021 and Plastic Foam is not
reliably recyclable.
(c) Palo Alto’s watersheds reside at the edge of the San Francisco Bay which is part
of the Pacific flyway and which protects habitat for two endangered species–the California
clapper rail and saltmarsh harvest mouse.
(d) 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 Plastic Foam litter released into the City’s watershed and beyond.
(e) On February 11, 2009, the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control
Board identified two Palo Alto creeks, San 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 the creeks be listed identifies polystyrene, a predominant source of Plastic
Foam, as being one of the types of trash responsible for the impairment.
(f) Plastic foam litter was the largest component by count of litter found in Adobe
and Matadero Creeks during the 2014 National River and Coastal Clean-up Day events.
(g) Plastic foam litter constitutes six percent of the litter collected in storm drains in
four Bay Area counties and 149 storm drain inlets based on a study performed by the Bay Area
Stormwater Management Agencies Association.
(h) Plastic foam litter presents unique management issues because it is lightweight,
floats, resists biodegradation, and easily breaks into smaller pieces. Because it is not easily
contained, it is often conveyed through storm drains to local creeks, the San Francisco Bay and
the Pacific Ocean. 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.
NOT YET APPROVED
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(i) Recycling Plastic Foam is problematic and not cost-effective. Ongoing logistical
and quality control challenges related to the minimal recycling market for Plastic Foam makes
maintaining a recycling program for peanuts and blocks financial and operationally infeasible.
All Plastic Foam materials must now be disposed of in a landfill.
(j) The retail sale or distribution of Plastic Foam undermines the goals of the City of
Palo Alto’s ordinance prohibiting the distribution of Plastic Foam foodware at Food Service
Establishments and City-sponsored events.
(k) Both of the major chemicals used to produce Plastic Foam, 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.
(l) Plastic Foam used at Food Service Establishments is a one-time use product that
degrades extremely slowly in nature.
(m) There are many suitable reusable, compostable or recyclable alternatives to
Plastic Foam foodware, ice chests and packaging materials.
(n) The City of Palo Alto provides an organics collection and composting program
to residents and Food Service Establishments which can accept paper and compostable
foodware for municipal composting.
(o) Non-recyclable materials pose a challenge to any environmentally and fiscally
responsible solid waste management program. Regulation of Plastic Foam 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.
(p) It is the intent of the Council to reduce the negative impacts of Plastic Foam
and encourage the use of recyclable or compostable alternatives through the implementation
of this Ordinance.
SECTION 2. Chapter 5.30 (Expanded Polystyrene and Non-Recyclable Food Service
Containers) of the Palo Alto Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows:
Chapter 5.30
EXPANDED POLYSTYRENEPLASTIC FOAM AND NON-RECYCLABLE FOOD SERVICE CONTAINERS
AND PACKAGING ITEMS
Sections:
5.30.010 Definitions
5.30.020 Prohibitions on the Use of Expanded PolystyrenePlastic Foam and Non-
Recyclable Plastic
5.30.030 Exemptions
NOT YET APPROVED
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5.30.040 Operative Dates
5.30.050 Severability
5.30.060 Enforcement and Penalties
5.30.070 Construction and Preemption
5.30.010 Definitions.
(a) “ASTM Standard” means meeting the standards of the American Society for Testing
and Materials (ASTM) International Standards D6400 or D6868 for biodegradable
and compostable plastics and any amendments or successor standards thereto.
(a)(b) “City facilitiesFacilities” refers to any building, structure or vehicle owned or
operated by the City of Palo Alto, its agents, departments and franchises.;
(b)(c) “Disposable food service containerFood Service Container” means single-use
disposable product used by food vendorsFood Service Establishments 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 thermoplastic 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 form of polystyrene foam insulation. In food
service, expanded polystyrene is generally used to make cups, bowls, plates, and
trays.
(c)(d) “Food vendorService Establishment” means 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,Retail Service Establishment, eating and drinking service (as defined in Title
18), takeout service (as defined in Title 18), supermarket, delicatessen, restaurant,
retail food vendor, sales outlet, shop, cafeteria, catering truck or vehicle, cart or
other sidewalk or other outdoor vendor, or caterer. which provides Prepared Food;
(d)(e) “Non-Recyclable Plastic” means all plastics that do not meet the definition of
“Recyclable Plastic”. ;
(f) “Plastic Foam” shall mean blown expanded and extruded plastic foams made from
polystyrene or other resins which are processed by any number of techniques
including, but not limited to, fusion of monomer spheres (expanded bead plastic),
injection molding, foam molding and extrusion-blown molding (extruded foam
plastic). Expanded polystyrene and other plastic foam resins are generally used to
NOT YET APPROVED
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make disposable cups, bowls, plates, trays, egg cartons, clamshell containers, ice
chests, shipping boxes and packing materials.
(g) “Plastic Foam Products” shall mean disposable Plastic Foam ice chests, cups, bowls,
plates, clamshells, shipping boxes containers, egg cartons, packaging peanuts,
packing blocks or other packaging materials that are not wholly encapsulated or
encased by a more durable material. Additional Plastic Foam Products may be
added by administrative regulation promulgated by the Director of Public Works or
his/her designee;
(e)(h) “Prepared foodFood” 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 prepared to be consumed off
the food vendor’sFood Service Establishment premises. Prepared foodFood does
not include any uncooked meat, fish, or poultry, or eggs.;
(f)(i) “Recyclable Plastic” means all plastics that can be recycled, salvaged, composted,
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
plasticsPlastics” include any plastic which can be feasibly recycledaccepted for
recycling or composting by the City’s municipal recycling program and presently is
limited to those plastics with the following recycling symbols: #1 - polyethylene
terephthalate (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 any expanded polystyrenePlastic Foam
labeled with recycling symbol #6., or any other Plastic Foam made with other plastic
resins;
(g)(j) “Retail Service Establishment” shall have the same meaning as Retail Service as
defined in Title 18 of this Code.
5.30.020 Prohibition on the Use of PolystyrenePlastic Foam Products and Non-Recyclable
Plastic.
(a) Except as provided by section 5.30.030 food vendors, Food Service Establishments
are prohibited from providing prepared food in disposable food service
containersDisposable Food Service Containers made from expanded polystyrene or
non-recyclable plastic. Plastic Foam or other Non-Recyclable Plastic;
(b) Except as provided by section 5.30.030, Retail Service Establishments are prohibited
from selling, leasing or otherwise providing Plastic Foam Products;
NOT YET APPROVED
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(b)(c) Except as provided by section 5.30.030, all City facilities, City managed concessions,
and vendors at City sponsored events, and or City permitted eventsowned facilities are
prohibited from using disposable food service containers made from expanded
polystyreneDisposable Food Service Containers, packaging or non-recyclable plastic.
other products made from Plastic Foam or Non-Recyclable Plastic;
(c)(d) Nothing in this Ordinance shall be interpreted to restrict the use or sale of any
form of fiber or paper disposable food service container, or the use of any form of
biodegradable or plastic food service container meeting ASTM Standards or other
products authorized by Administrative Regulation.
5.30.030 Exemptions
(a) The following exemptions shall apply:
(ai) 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.
(cii) The directorDirector of Public Works, or his/her designee, may exempt a
food Food Service Establishment, Retail Service Establishment or City
facility/vendor from the requirements of this Ordinance for a period of up to
one year, upon showing by the food vendorif the applicant for such exemption
can demonstrate 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 vendorapplicant where there are no reasonable alternatives to
expanded polystyrenePlastic Foam Products or nonNon-recyclable plastic
disposable food service containersPlastic Disposable Food Service Containers
and compliance with this Ordinance would cause significant economic hardship
to that food vendorapplicant, or cause the food vendorthem to be deprived of
a legally protected right.
(diii) A food A Food Service Establishment, Retail Service Establishment or City
facility/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 information to permit
the Director to determine facts regarding the exemption application.
NOT YET APPROVED
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(eiv) Emergency Supplies and Service Procurement. City facilities, food
vendorsFood Service Establishments, Retail Service Establishments, 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 Food Service Establishment, Retail Service Establishments and City facilities
and vendors must comply with the requirements of this Ordinance by April 22, 2010March 1,
2016.
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 Enforcement and Penalties
(a) The Director of Public Works or his/her designee shall have primary responsibility
for enforcement of this chapter. The Director of Public Works or his or her designee
is authorized to promulgate regulations and to take any and all other actions
reasonable and necessary to enforce this chapter, including, but not limited to,
entering the premises of any Food Provider to verify compliance.
(a)(b) Anyone violating or 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)(c) Anyone violating or failing to comply with any of the requirements of this Chapter
shall be subject to an administrative penalty or administrative compliance order as
set forth in Chapters 1.12 and 1.16 of the Palo Alto Municipal Code.
(c) 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.
(d) 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 federal law or regulation imposing the same, or essentially the same limits
on the use of prohibited products as set forth in the Chapter. This Chapter is
NOT YET APPROVED
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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.
SECTION 3. On April 27, 2009 the City Council adopted a Negative Declaration with
respect to the City’s earlier prohibition against food establishments’ use of extended
polystyrene products. The Council hereby finds that this ordinance’s extension to other foam
products and further applicability to retail service establishments would not result in any
additional impacts not already analyzed under the earlier Negative Declaration. The City has
prepared an addendum to the Negative Declaration to clarify the extended scope.
SECTION 4. This ordinance shall be effective on the thirty-first day after the date of its
adoption.
INTRODUCED:
PASSED:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTENTIONS:
ATTEST:
____________________________ ____________________________
City Clerk Mayor
APPROVED AS TO FORM: APPROVED:
____________________________ ____________________________
Senior Assistant City Attorney City Manager
____________________________
Director of Public Works