§ 8.07.010. Purpose and findings.

The purpose of this Chapter is to eliminate the unnecessary distribution of disposable food service ware that is not reusable or readily compostable of recyclable. The City Council wishes to reduce the amount of non-biodegradable solid waste that will end up outside of the waste stream and in Oakland storm drains and waterways through litter and the circulation of windblown debris. The City Council finds that disposable food service ware that is not reusable or readily compostable or recyclable constitutes a significant adverse environmental impact, and that it presents a challenge to the city's program of integrated waste management. Disposable food service ware ends up on city streets, in parks, public places and open spaces, and can clog storm drains, arch culverts and catch basins, increasing time and expense of the work performed by Public Works Staff during storm events. Pieces and fragments of disposable food service ware often enter the marine environment through storm drains and can be damaging and injurious to marine wildlife. By increasing awareness in the city and in the community of daily simple decisions that consumers may make to reduce solid waste and the risk of plastics and non-biodegradable waste entering the waste stream or into storm drains or local waterways, this Chapter aims to change consumer habits within the city to reduce the amount of disposable food service ware that ends up outside of the waste stream and to further implement objectives of the City's Zero Waste Strategic Plan.

Biodegradable and compostable products offer environmentally superior alternatives to non-compostable and non-recyclable disposable food service ware, pose less of a danger to the natural and urban environment, are more likely to be processed into valuable materials and byproducts to support agriculture and landscaping, and requiring their use by food vendors can serve to reduce the costly waste of natural resources and the energy required to produce new products and new disposable food service ware.

Disposable food service ware made of polystyrene, plastic utensils, and single use beverage straws are particularly challenging to the City of Oakland as it is slow to degrade, is widely prevalent as litter within the city's urban landscape, along the shores of Lake Merritt, and within watersheds and along beaches, and substitutes and alternatives to single use disposable food service ware are currently widely available and affordable for Oakland food vendors.

(Ord. No. 13488, § 4, 5-15-2018)