[Support of Food Service and Packaging Waste Reduction Ordinance File Number: 160383]
Resolution urging the Board of Supervisors and the Mayor to adopt File Number 160383, an Ordinance amending the Environment Code to prohibit the sale of food service ware and other specified products including packing materials that are made from polystyrene foam or that are non-recyclable and non-compostable.
WHEREAS, The City and County of San Francisco has a duty to protect the environment, the economy and the health of its citizens; and,
WHEREAS, Polystyrene foam (blown, expanded or extruded polystyrene) is an environmental pollutant that is commonly used for packaging and as food service ware in the City and County of San Francisco; and,
WHEREAS, Due to the physical properties of polystyrene foam, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states “that such materials can have serious impacts upon human health, wildlife, and aquatic environment, and the economy; and,
WHEREAS, Polystyrene foam packaging and food service ware cannot be recycled through San Francisco’s recycling (blue bin) collection program and is otherwise difficult or impossible to recycle, and is not compostable. Compostable or recyclable packaging and food service ware are an affordable, safer, more ecologically sound alternative; and,
WHEREAS, Disposable food service ware and packaging foam constitute a source of litter on San Francisco’s street, parks, and public places, and the costs of managing litter is substantial; and,
WHEREAS, The Bay Area Stormwater Management Agencies Association and Caltrans found that between 8 to 15% of plastics in San Francisco storm drains are polystyrene foam. The San Francisco Estuary Institute found that 8% of the microplastics entering San Francisco Bay from wastewater treatment facilities are polystyrene foam. And a recent study concluded that 71% of the microplastics found in the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers were polystyrene foam pieces; and,
WHEREAS, A new report by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, World Economic Forum and McKinsey & Company finds an increasing rate of plastics entering the oceans, and predicts that by 2050, without significant action to reduce the flow of plastics, there will be more plastic by weight in the oceans of the world than fish. A majority of these plastics entering the oceans are from packaging including food and beverage containers, much of it made with polystyrene foam; and,
WHEREAS, Polystyrene foam is a notorious pollutant that breaks down into smaller, non-biodegradable pieces that are often mistaken for fish eggs by seabirds and other marine life. Unlike harder plastics, polystyrene contains a chemical used in the production process called “styrene” that is metabolized after ingestion and threatens the entire food chain, including humans who consume contaminated marine wildlife; and,
WHEREAS, Styrene has been linked to cancer as well as reproductive and developmental disorders by the National Research Council, and styrene leaches into food and drink, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; and,
WHEREAS, The general public typically is not warned or aware of any potential hazard from styrene, particularly in the immigrant and non-English speaking community; and,
WHEREAS, Due to these concerns, more than 100 U.S. cities have enacted ordinances banning or restricting the sale and/or use of polystyrene foam service ware and/or packaging materials, and many local businesses and a number of national corporations have successfully replaced polystyrene foam and other non-biodegradable food service ware and packaging materials with alternative, cost-competitive products; and,
WHEREAS, The Department of the Environment has successfully implemented and achieved nearly 100% compliance from the 5000 food establishments in the city with the 2007 Food Service Waste Reduction Ordinance, Chapter 16 of the Environment Code, that prohibits the use of polystyrene foam and requires disposable food ware be compostable or recyclable for serving prepared food. The Department has assisted businesses in identifying the many affordable suitable polystyrene alternatives available; and,
WHEREAS, Supervisor London Breed has proposed and Supervisor Aaron Peskin has co-sponsored a Food Service and Packaging Waste Reduction Ordinance that would expand the 2007 ordinance to extend the prohibition to the sale or distribution of polystyrene foam and non-compostable or non-recyclable food ware products. This new ordinance would also prohibit the selling or distribution of polystyrene foam packaging, including polystyrene foam “packing peanuts”, and prohibit the sale or distribution of polystyrene foam coolers, ice chests or similar containers, pool or beach toys, dock floats, mooring buoys, or anchor or navigation markers; and,
WHEREAS, Restricting the use of polystyrene foam food service ware and requiring it to be replaced with less hazardous, compostable, or readily recyclable products, and barring the sale of polystyrene foam food service ware, packaging products, and other polystyrene products will further protect the public health and safety of San Francisco’s residents, as well as its natural environment, waterways and wildlife; now, therefore, be it,
RESOLVED, That the Commission on the Environment urges the Board of Supervisors and the Mayor to adopt the Food Service and Packaging Waste Reduction Ordinance (File Number 160383) prohibiting the sale of food service ware and other specified products including packing materials that are made from polystyrene foam or that are non-recyclable and non-compostable; and, be it,
FUTHER RESOLVED, That the Commission on the Environment recognizes that the Food Service and Packaging Waste Reduction Ordinance may help the City and County of San Francisco meet its goal of Zero Waste by 2020 and fulfill Article 10 of the Environmental Accords, in which the City committed with other cities around the globe to eliminate or restrict the use of one chemical or environmental hazard each year.
I hereby certify that this Resolution was adopted at the Commission on the Environment’s Meeting on May 24, 2016.
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Anthony Valdez, Commission Affairs Manager
Vote: 5-0 Approved
Ayes: Commissioners Omotalade, Bermejo, Hoyos, Stephenson and Wald
Noes: None
Absent: Commissioner Wan