Half Moon Bay to ban single-use plastics

The ordinance will go before the council in 90 days and will mirror one being adopted by San Mateo County this month. To date, 16 other cities in the county are considering adopting the ordinance or a version of it.

The ordinance specifically addresses single-use plastic foodware products associated with prepared foods. Once the new rules are on the books, restaurants and other food vendors will be required to use non-plastic, compostable plates, bowls, cups, food trays, clamshells, boxes, deli containers and other containers. Those items could be lined, but cannot be made entirely with compostable plastic.

Straws, stirrers, utensils and toothpicks will also have to be made from non-plastic, compostable materials, which could include paper, sugarcane, wheat stalk/stem, bamboo or wood.

The ordinance also maintains a ban on Styrofoam that the city adopted in 2011.

Finally, businesses will only provide accessories such as straws, stirrers and napkins upon request once the ordinance takes effect. Food delivery services on their digital platforms will also be required to provide clear options for customers to request accessories.

Foodware made from aluminum will be exempted from the ordinance. The ordinance also allows businesses to provide plastic straws to consumers with medical needs upon request, health care facilities to distribute plastic straws without a request and drive-through areas of businesses to hand out straws and cup sleeves without being asked by consumers.

Once the ordinance is passed, the county will handle education and outreach efforts, which will be a “substantial financial benefit” to the city, officials said during the meeting. For that reason, councilmembers opted to simply adopt the county ordinance first and then explore additional bans afterward.

While adoption of the ordinance will likely occur in a few months, it wouldn’t take effect for a year to give businesses time to adjust and the county time to develop an education and enforcement program.

Councilmembers described the ordinance as just the beginning for curbing plastic use in the city and requested officials also explore a potential ban on single-use plastic water bottles.

“We’d love to take this further and eliminate all plastics — we recognize that’s the goal of virtually everyone in this audience,” said Public Works Director John Doughty. “We see this really as simply a first step, not the last step. It’s a beginning step in terms of eliminating and reducing our community’s reliance on plastics.”

zachary@smdailyjournal.com

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