Council Directs City Attorney to Draft Foodservice Ware On-Request Ordinance

The City Council unanimously voted to have the City Attorney prepare an ordinance that would give customers the chance to opt out of receiving paper napkins, plastic knives, spoons, and forks when they order take-out or delivery food from at local restaurants.

“It puts the power in the consumer’s hands,” said Vice Mayor Andy Wilson.

The item garnered unanimous support when it was being considered by the council’s Municipal Service Committee, and the city of Alhambra passed a similar ordinance last month.

According to Forbes, 40 billion individual plastic utensils become waste every year after a single use. The majority of them are thrown out and end up in landfills and in our waterways.

According to a 2017 article in Mother Jones, a survey by four major environmental groups revealed that plastic utensils ranked among the 10 most common trash items found in California. The United Nations estimates that the oceans contain more than 8 million tons of plastic.

The city will coordinate with LA County and the city of Los Angeles on the ordinance.

The ordinance will take effect 30 days after the council is adopted by the council.

Several restaurants already allow customers to decline plastic utensils when ordering online and state law requires restaurant workers to ask before including plastic straw.

Local restaurants also supported the item in comments to the City Council.

“I strongly support the Skipthestuff ordinance ro require foodware accessories on request,” said Robert Ramos. “Providing takeout ‘extras’ only on request saves restaurants money and reduced unnecessary single use disposable waste. #SkiptheStuf is a win-win for our LA communities, businesses and environment.”

The California Restaurant Association and city staff said they believe the ordinance would lead to cost savings. In a poll members of the local Chamber of Commerce were evenly split on support for the ordinance.

The council passed its first major zero waste ordinance in 2016 when it banned Styrofoam food and beverage containers.

With restaurants relying heavily on take-out and delivery orders for revenue during the pandemic, the report said most businesses currently provide disposable eating utensils, even when customers don’t ask for them. As a result, these items get thrown away without being used, since customers would normally eat in their homes where they have their own reusable utensils.

“I think one of the reasons this came up is the timing issue,” Councilmember Felicia Williams said during the Municipal Services Committee meeting. “During COVID, with so much take-out, we are generating so much waste. I think there is an urgency. Maybe we could start the education and outreach early to get people to start doing it a little bit sooner.”