San Mateo plans ban on plastic convenience products

The city plans to have the ordinance appear before the council in January or February after city staff preparation. Its goal is to begin enforcement in 2022, according to San Mateo Deputy Mayor Eric Rodriguez. The city plans to do outreach before January to restaurants and places that sell prepared food to alert them to potential changes.

The County of San Mateo, not the city, would be responsible for enforcement of the ban, including the financial costs, which encouraged the city of San Mateo to get on board. According to Rodriguez, the city does not have the personnel or the financial power to enforce the ordinance. While he didn’t know how the county will enforce the city ordinance, Rodriguez believes it will be complaint-driven.

San Mateo plans to follow the county’s lead with its ordinance and make it similar to its Disposable Food Service Ware Ordinance passed in 2020, requiring the use of non-plastic, compostable products instead of plastic products. Under the county’s ordinance, non-plastic compostables are required for plates, bowls, cups, food trays, clamshells, boxes, deli containers and other containers. Restaurants and stores also have to use non-plastic compostable straws, stirrers, utensils and toothpicks. Small accessories such as straws, utensils and condiment packets would only be provided upon request or at a self-serve area.

Rodriguez said the council did not show any interest in changing the details of their ordinance from the county ordinance, but it might extend the start of the enforcement period to the end of 2022 to give restaurants more time to prepare. Its goal is to ensure San Mateo restaurants are not disadvantaged and have a plan in place.

“I don’t want them to be thinking about this right now,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez believes getting the process started now helps promote consistency and will convince other cities to pass similar ordinances, helping to even the playing field for San Mateo restaurants. He believes it’s important to change behavior to be less reliant on plastic and consider more sustainable utensil options.

“I think having a relatively large city like San Mateo start down this path will help bring even more momentum to the county’s larger initiative and promote consistency because the more we go down this path, the more pressure it’s going to be for other cities to go,” Rodriguez said.

Councilwoman Diane Papan said she was comfortable with having a city ordinance because of the future enforcement date in 2022, which gives restaurants and stores time to reorganize.

“While I’m not terribly excited about doing this during a pandemic, I think when we are looking that far out, it gives us time to adapt,” Papan said.

The city implemented the ban to help protect the environment and lessen litter and waste from restaurants and stores. City staff said most restaurants’ concerns are about the cost of having non-plastic materials and getting them from vendors. The council hopes the long window before enforcement will help restaurants get ready and provide time to set up alternatives to plastic options. The council acknowledged it’s a challenge to run a restaurant right now.

Councilman Rick Bonilla hopes businesses start working with customers to find solutions before enforcement begins in 2022. He believes the long period before the ordinance becomes enforceable in San Mateo will help food businesses adjust and adapt. He supports lining up enforcement in the city with the county’s plastic ban ordinance in unincorporated areas in March of 2022.

“I figured it would be good to line up with that, just to keep everything consistent throughout the county as much as we can,” Bonilla said.

curtis@smdailyjournal.com

(650) 344-5200 ext. 102