Council to Conduct First Reading of Foodware Opt Out Ordinance

After comparing a proposed ordinance to nearby communities, the Pasadena City Council will conduct the first reading of an ordinance that would require food service providers – including restaurants, bars, food trucks and convenience stores – to have customers affirmatively request disposable accessory foodware items such as spoons, forks, knives, napkins, straws and other items before receiving them.

When the ordinance is in effect, Pasadenans will have a choice in opting out of receiving paper napkins, plastic knives, spoons, and forks when they order take-out or delivery food from local restaurants.

The ordinance will add a chapter to Title 8 of the Pasadena Municipal Code and will require restaurants and other food service providers – including third-party delivery platforms – to provide disposable accessory foodware items only when the customer requests them.

When the ordinance proposal came before the City Council last month,  instead of conducting the first reading the council decided it best to wait until the local ordinance could be compared with similar ordinances in Los Angeles County, the city of Los Angeles and details about an education campaign.

City staff is proposing the city adopt an ordinance consistent with recently adopted regulations by the county, Alhambra and Santa Monica.

“Public Works staff compared the accessory foodware ordinances recently adopted by the cities of Alhambra, Santa Monica and Los Angeles and the County of Los Angeles,” according to a staff report. 

“All of these adopted ordinances prohibit providing accessory foodware items unless requested by the customer and permit offering the items to drive-thru and delivery customers. The cities of Alhambra and Santa Monica and County of Los Angeles ordinances also permit offering foodware items to dine-in and take-out customers, whereas the City of Los Angeles ordinance prohibits it. The City of Los Angeles also prohibits providing self-service foodware dispensers or stations,” the report states.

The purpose of the ordinance is to regulate dispensing disposable accessory foodware items in order to reduce waste.

Anyone violating the ordinance, once it is in effect, may be punishable under the administrative citation procedures set forth in the Pasadena Municipal Code. Fines collected in accordance with the ordinance shall be deposited in the refuse fund to assist the Department of Public Works with the costs of implementing and enforcing ordinance requirements, the report states.

According to the ordinance, third-party delivery platforms will be required to include an option in their app-based ordering process to allow customers to affirmatively request disposable accessory foodware items as a part of their delivery or takeout order.