Tiburon signals support for single-use foodware ban

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Tiburon plans to adopt an ordinance banning the use of single-use foodware and requiring the use of compostable foodware for food service vendors.

The Town Council heard a presentation on the ordinance, modeled after the county’s ordinance, on Wednesday night. The council directed staff to prepare an ordinance for consideration at a later meeting.

The Board of Supervisors approved a first reading of a single-use foodware ordinance in April that requires all food facility vendors to use reusable foodware for dine-in operations and compostable foodware for take-out. The ordinance was approved on May 10.

If the town adopts the ordinance, enforcement is set to begin on Nov. 10, 2023.

Councilmember Holli Thier said she originally brought the ordinance to the council in 2019. She said she is “excited” to take action on the issue and noted it would help the town’s climate goals.

It will “actually be a statement which follows what a lot of our restaurants are already doing,” she said. “I’m hopeful we can get this on the soonest agenda possible.”

The county resolution follows similar ordinances in San Anselmo, Fairfax and Sausalito. Tiburon, like other municipalities, delayed an ordinance until the county adopted a wide-ranging model.

The county ordinance states that all disposable takeout foodware, including plates, bowls, cups and trays, must be natural-fiber compostable with no bioplastics. The items must be certified by the Biodegradable Products Institute. Aluminum will be allowed under the rules. The ordinance also calls for reusable foodware and utensils to be used if a customer is dining indoors. Natural-fiber compostable foodware can be provided upon request.

There will be a 25-cent charge for a disposable cup. Exemptions will be available for people with food stamps. Refuse bins also must be clearly labeled to allow customers and employees to properly sort waste.

The county ordinance applies to restaurants, grocery stores, delis, bakeries, carry-out orders, farmers markets, food trucks and other businesses in unincorporated areas with a health permit.

Enforcement is expected to be phased in over time and will be conducted by Marin County Environmental Health Services. Towns have the option of delegating enforcement to the county at a cost of $3,209. The fee will be waived if the council adopts the ordinance within a year.

Councilmember Alice Fredericks mentioned the so-called great Pacific garbage patch –– a stream of floating marine debris about twice the size of Texas –– as a symbol of plastic pollution.

“Ever since I saw a video of it, it just circulates through my dreams like a nightmare,” she said. “There’s just so many reasons to move on from that if we were interested in having a viable climate action plan.”

She also offered an idea she said was used at Starbucks coffee shops in Australia called “keep cups,” where customers brought their own cups into shops.

Other council members also signaled their support.



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