Palo Alto adopts sweeping plastics ban
Proposal diverts 95% of waste from landfills, reduces 80% of greenhouse gases by 2030
Although Palo Alto adopted one of the strictest plastic bans in the Bay Area on Monday night, some residents and city leaders contend that the measure doesn’t go far enough.
Palo Alto City Council unanimously voted Monday night to prohibit the distribution of plastic straws, utensils and stirrers in all food service establishments starting in January as well as ban produce and meat bags in grocery stores and farmers markets starting in July 2020.
The proposed bans are part of a larger city effort — called its Zero Waste Plan — to divert 95 percent of its waste from landfills and reduce 80 percent of its greenhouse gases by 2030.
The plan calls for phasing in the ban, which many residents, environmentalists and at least one city council member strongly opposed.
The bans passed Monday night represent phase one of the Zero Waste Plan.
Phase two, which the city plans to put into effect in 2021, would require all food service establishments to charge for non-reusable cups and containers, provide reusable foodware items to all dine-in customers and install dishwashers. The last phase, planned for 2025, would require food service establishments to provide reusable foodware for all takeout orders.
Councilwoman Alison Cormack asked the council Monday to consider adding the phase two requirement that food establishments charge for nonreusable cups and containers to the initial ordinance.
City staff, however, informed her that developing a system for those charges would be too difficult to put in place within six months — when the ordinance goes into effect.
After hearing the staff input, Cormack withdrew her request but said that she was “not happy about it.”
“I remain impatient, so I’ll just say that to the extent that we can speed any of these up — please don’t wait,” she said. “If you think that any of these can be done sooner, please don’t wait.”
About a dozen residents spoke in support of the ordinance during Monday’s meeting but nearly half of them echoed the same frustration.
“While getting rid of plastic is really good for the marine environment, it doesn’t go far enough,” Miriam Gordon, program and policy director for the nonprofit organization Upstream, said during the meeting. “We need to focus on reducing all of our disposable foodware.”
By banning plastics but still allowing the use of other disposable products, Gordon said the ordinance merely “transfers the environmental burden from our oceans to our climate and habitat.”
The proposed ordinance would mandate that all straws, utensils, stirrers and produce and meat bags be made of compostable or reusable materials and that businesses only distribute plastic products upon request, according to the staff report. The ordinance does not apply to plastic food or beverage containers.
Hospitals caring for patients who may need to use plastic, bendable straws will be exempt from the ordinance, according to city staff.
Palo Alto’s latest move aligns with those made in a handful of Bay Area cities in recent years as an effort to reduce the effects of climate change.
San Francisco, Berkeley and Alameda have banned the use of plastic straws and utensils. Palo Alto, however, is the first to also prohibit plastic produce and meat bags at grocery stores and farmers markets.
Seen as a major step toward reaching the city’s Zero Waste plan, the city council also unanimously approved another ordinance Monday night that aims to reduce the largest material category found in the city’s landfills.
According to the city staff report, construction and demolition materials represent more than 40 percent of the total materials found in Palo Alto landfills.
The deconstruction ordinance, which will take effect in July 2020, requires that people deconstruct rather than demolish old buildings that they plan to fully raze. Staff estimated the ordinance would affect approximately 114 projects a year.
By deconstructing a structure, materials can be taken apart and separated so they’re easier to reuse and recycle, according to the staff.