The city of West Hollywood will begin implementing its plastic foodware ordinance in 2023. (photo by Edwin Folven)

West Hollywood is taking steps to minimize its environmental footprint by adopting an ordinance that would prohibit the distribution of single-use, non-compostable foodware items.

The new policy is an adaptation of a 2019 proposed city directive that sought to make plastic utensils and straws available only upon customer request. The plan was placed on hold due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The new ban was drafted, in part, in response to recent research showing the production of plastic has increased worldwide over the last 10 years – a trend that has been exacerbated by the pandemic.

“Now that we have all been consuming products via delivery systems, there is so much more trash,” said Councilwoman Lindsey Horvath. “Every time something is ordered and delivered, I think of what comes with it, and there are so many things that are delivered to me that I don’t ask for that have just become commonplace.”

The ordinance, which was approved unanimously on Jan. 18 by the City Council, will go beyond the impending Assembly Bill 1276, which goes into effect June 1, and requires any single-use foodware accessory to be distributed only upon request by a customer.

West Hollywood joins the cities of Malibu, Santa Monica, Berkeley and Culver City in enacting such a policy ahead of the new California law.

The policy will specifically prohibit the distribution of single-use, non-compostable forms of the following items: cups, utensils, chopsticks, condiment cups, straws, stirrers, splash sticks, cocktail sticks, containers, lids, bowls, napkins, plates, cup lids, cup sleeves, food and beverage trays, condiment packets or saucers, spill plugs and toothpicks.

Rather than an all-at-once approach, the ordinance will be rolled out in two phases. In the first phase, food distributors that employ 500 or more workers nationally will be subject to the policy effective Jan. 1, 2023. The second phase will require all other food distributors to begin implementing the policy effective June 1, 2024.

While the first phase was initially set to begin June 1, 2023, Mayor Pro Tempore Sepi Shyne proposed an amendment that forces larger businesses to act more swiftly.

“I am interested in a shortened compliance period for the big businesses to January 2023,” said Shyne, pointing to the larger businesses’ ability to better stockpile equipment. “I think in the 90 days [prior to the compliance date], staff will come back, and if these big businesses still have a lot of supply chain issues, we deal with that appropriately.”

This phased approach gives businesses time to adapt from current policy to the impending state law and then to the local ordinance – with an emphasis on allowing more time for smaller, local businesses to adjust.

The gradual implementation also allows city staff to provide educational materials to local businesses and the public, as well as develop enforcement efforts regarding the new rules.

Within 90 days of the compliance dates, city staff will meet with businesses to evaluate supply chain concerns and propose adjustment dates to the City Council, as they see fit.

According to a staff report, a majority of local businesses surveyed concerning the policy expressed opposition due to cost, a lack of availability of more eco-friendly products and supply chain issues. Many businesses also noted that the impending state law is “sufficient and appropriate for the current times.”

Genevieve Morrill, president and CEO of the West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, voiced concern at the Jan. 18 City Council meeting about the feasibility of access for local businesses, given the proposed timeline.

“We’re in a dire global supply chain problem, [ordinance-compliant foodware products] are not readily available nor cost effective yet,” Morrill said. “Please consider, not only a phased-in timeline, but also phased-in products and conditions.”

“Environmental policies are only effective if they are practical,” L.A. LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce executive director and longtime West Hollywood resident Marquita Thomas said at the council meeting.

Thomas made a point of highlighting how pandemic recovery would have to factor into the timeline of implementing the ban.

“West Hollywood’s hospitality businesses are coping with COVID in ways that are affecting them like never seen before … we never really know if we are at the start, middle or end of this pandemic,” Thomas said.

In a letter to the City Council, David Juarez, director of local government affairs for the Los Angeles chapter of the California Restaurant Association, expressed the restaurant advocacy organization’s opposition to the proposed ban, citing financial and supply chain issues caused by the pandemic.

“[Restaurants] are experiencing a shortage of goods, leading to the cost of goods to skyrocket,” Juarez wrote. “Limiting the options of foodware accessories will only heighten the shortage of these items.”

In response to concerns by the public, Horvath suggested that the council work toward helping businesses lower the cost to implement new goods in the supply chain. She also made clear that educational enforcement will be prioritized over citations.

“We’re doing this, not as a form of punishment, but because it’s better for all of us,” Horvath said.

The staff report also notes that businesses will be able to apply for a one-year exemption if they are able to demonstrate that the ordinance would cause undue hardship.

Additionally, foodware items included in meal deliveries into the city from businesses outside West Hollywood are exempt from the policy.

While the ordinance has been approved by the City Council, the full fiscal impact of it has yet to be outlined. The ordinance is one in a series of environmentally-minded policies West Hollywood has enacted throughout the years. In 1990, West Hollywood prohibited vendors from distributing and selling polystyrene food packaging. The city continued its regulation on plastic when it banned the use of single-use plastic bags in 2012.

– Carlos De Loera