By Alfred Twu
Plastic straws and other foodware aren't just a waste issue — they are a water pollution issue. Around half of all street litter is disposable foodware. This trash clogs storm drains, pollutes the Bay, and ultimately ends up in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and inside the stomachs of wildlife.
Even when properly disposed, foodware is a challenging material to recycle. Straws and sporks are too small to sort, food contamination can cause materials to be rejected by exporters, and compostable plastics are disliked by compost processors, who find that some brands don't break down fast enough. Most straws are made from polypropylene, a petroleum-based plastic. Plastic straws can take up to 200 years to decompose.
To combat the straw scourge, a number of coastal cities have adopted or begun exploring various regulations to limit disposable foodware waste. Berkeley, Oakland, and San Francisco are among the pioneering cities.
Oakland’s legislation, introduced by Councilmember Abel Guillén and adopted on May 1st, prohibits single-use plastic straws in Oakland’s dine-in restaurants, bars, and other food facilities, except upon customer request, as part of its health and sanitation standards. The “straws-by-request” ordinance includes a provision that directs the City Administrator to return to the City Council in six months with draft legislation for restricting containers, utensils and other disposable food-service ware, in addition to straws.
Berkeley's proposed ordinance, introduced by Councilmember Sophie Hahn, would require dine-in customers to be served with reusable cups, plates, and utensils. Single-use straws, utensils, and stir sticks would be required to be compostable, and be provided only on customer request. There would be a 25-cent fee charged for disposable cups and takeout containers. Existing businesses that do not have space for a dishwashing machine would be exempted, as well as customers paying with SNAP and WIC.
San Francisco is the latest Bay Area city to consider a ban on disposable foodware. On May 15th, Supervisor Katy Tang and Ahsha Safaí introduced an ordinance banning plastic straws, stirrers, and cocktail sticks. It would also require that other disposable products including beverage lids, condiment packets, and napkins be made available only upon request or at self-serve stations.
Research by Clean Water Action's Rethink Disposables program has found that many businesses ultimately end up saving money from not having to buy disposables, and they also benefit from cleaner streets. For more information, visit www.rethinkdisposable.com.
Alfred Twu is chair of the Bay Chapter's Zero Waste Committee
Image: a plastic fork lodged in the nostril of a sea turtle. Photo courtesy Sean A. Williamson.