Single-use plastic at Marin restaurants must stop

The reusable foodware ordinance currently in the process of passage by the Marin County Board of Supervisors represents years of work, study and proof points.

It is a shame that the Marin Council of Chambers are choosing to ignore the abundant evidence of the harm caused by single-use disposable plastic and to the long-term human health consequences of foodware coated in toxic “forever chemicals” (“Marin business interests seek pause on foodware ordinance,” April 1).

The 18-month runway leading up to this ordinance approval is definitely sufficient for businesses to make the needed transition. The county team for implementation plans outreach and support for businesses. They have done a good job, much like what the San Anselmo officials have been doing since passage of their ordinance in 2019.

According to case studies by ReThink Disposable, the data for California businesses that move away from single-use to reusable containers for dine-in shows typical savings of $3,000 to $22,000. The ordinance's cup charge of 25 cents goes to the business and will mean reduced single-cup expenses. It is a price signal meant to stop the unsustainability of Marin's estimated annual 95 million cups used once and thrown away.

Single-use plastic foodware and drink cups are not acceptable. When you understand the connection to ocean trash, toxic coatings, landfill items that will only accumulate and never break down, wildlife suffering and the direct trail to fossil fuel greenhouse gases that are the basis of our climate crisis, the answer is obvious.

Eighteen months is too long for many of us, yet it gives businesses ample time to make this urgent change. The time is now to pass the reusable foodware ordinance.

— Susan Hopp, Mill Valley