Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Bay Area City Approves 25-Cent Fee on Disposable Cups
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
January 26, 2019

Share

SAN FRANCISCO — Patrons of restaurants and coffee shops in Berkeley who don’t bring a reusable cup for their beverage will have to pay a 25-cent fee for a disposable cup as part of an ordinance approved by city officials to reduce restaurant waste.

“The goal is to transition Berkeley from throwaway to reusable food ware, to incentivize people to bring their own cup.”Councilwoman Sophie Hahn 
Berkeley’s City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve the fee on single-use cups that will take effect January 2020.
“The goal is to transition Berkeley from throwaway to reusable food ware, to incentivize people to bring their own cup,” said Councilwoman Sophie Hahn, who co-authored the ordinance with Mayor Jesse Arreguin.
The ordinance, called Disposable-Free Dining, also requires restaurants to provide takeout containers that are compostable by mid-2020 and to provide only reusable plates and utensils for those eating in. It also says other disposable items, like lids and stirrers, can only be offered when requested.

City Also Imposed a Ban on Plastic Straws

Restaurants would keep all proceeds, and it would be up to them to decide what to do with the extra money. The funds, for example, could be used to replace plastic cutlery for more environmentally friendly silverware, she added.
The single-use cup fee is the latest effort in the socially forward city to reduce waste. Bans on plastic bags received support in the city of 120,000 long before California became the first state to impose a ban in 2014. The city has also imposed a ban on plastic straws.
Berkeley pioneered recycling in the 1970s and banned Styrofoam in the 1980s. But that alone is no longer enough, Hahn said.
The hope is to reduce consumption of single-use containers through a change in behavior and one day have people bring their own reusable carry-out containers to restaurants, just like they bring their reusable plastic bags to the grocery store, she said.
“We were the first city in the U.S. to do curbside recycling, and people thought we were crazy,” she said “But we pioneered that, and it has become the norm across the world.”
Berkeley voters also became the first in the country to approve taxing sodas to curb consumption, after costly campaigns by the soda industry helped defeat similar taxes in more than 30 other cities and states in recent years.

 

Effects on Business a Worry

A lot of restaurants in Berkeley already use compostable to-go food ware and reusable plates and utensils for dining-in, and the ordinance faced no opposition, she added.

“Everyone is excited about doing something about the environment — and then the food price goes up but the student doesn’t make the connection and stops eating out and business goes down. That’s a concern.” — Stuart Baker, executive director of Telegraph Business Improvement District
Business owners along Telegraph Avenue, a street lined with coffee shops and restaurants that cater to University of California, Berkeley students, support the measure but are still concerned about the financial impact it could have, said Stuart Baker, executive director of Telegraph Business Improvement District.
The change comes as restaurants adjust to an increase in the minimum wage to $15 per hour as of October, Baker said.
“Everyone is excited about doing something about the environment — and then the food price goes up but the student doesn’t make the connection and stops eating out and business goes down. That’s a concern,” he added.
Baker said he hopes the city educates the public about what the 25-cent fee would mean for the environment. “For this to be successful, people need to understand this will impact their pocketbook,” he said.

DON'T MISS

Caitlin Clark and Iowa Draw Nearly 5 Million Viewers for Second-Round NCAA Win

DON'T MISS

Canadian School Boards Sue Snapchat, TikTok and Meta for Disrupting Students’ Education

DON'T MISS

California Law Enforcement Agencies Obstruct Transparency Efforts in Use-of-Force Cases

DON'T MISS

No Police Charges for Taylor Swift’s Dad Over Paparazzi Incident in Sydney

DON'T MISS

Biden Administration to Lend $1.5B to Restart Michigan Nuclear Power Plant, a First in the US

DON'T MISS

Tonight’s Biden Fundraiser With Obama and Clinton Already Nets a Record $25 Million

DON'T MISS

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP Pick in 2000, Dead at 82

DON'T MISS

Trump Criticizes Judge and His Daughter After Gag Order in Hush-Money Case

DON'T MISS

CA Insurance Market ‘in Chaos,’ Says Former Insurance Commissioner. Can Lara Fix It?

DON'T MISS

Police Had About 90 Seconds to Stop Traffic Before Baltimore Bridge Fell. 6 Workers Are Feared Dead

No data was found

Facebook News Tab Will Soon Be Unavailable as Meta Scales Back News and Political Content

11 hours ago

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Rises to More Records to Close Out Its Latest Winning Month

12 hours ago

A Fresno County First: Kerman Council Passes Amended Gaza Cease-Fire Resolution

12 hours ago

UN Top Court Orders Israel to Open More Land Crossings for Aid into Gaza

12 hours ago

How Involved Is Southern California Consulting Firm in FUSD Executive Dealings?

12 hours ago

Biden’s Fundraiser with Obama and Clinton Nets a Record $25 Million, His Campaign Says

13 hours ago

Fresno Unified’s Self-Protection Racket Is Hurting Our Kids

13 hours ago

Rockin’ Out or Laughing, the Valley Has Its Pick of Weekend Events

14 hours ago

Ex-Correctional Officer at Women’s Prison in California Sentenced for Sexually Abusing Inmates

16 hours ago

Caitlin Clark and Iowa Draw Nearly 5 Million Viewers for Second-Round NCAA Win

16 hours ago

PGA HOPE at Riverside Golf Course Introduces Military Veterans to the Game

PGA HOPE, now underway at Fresno’s Riverside Golf Course, is designed to introduce golf to veterans and active duty military members t...

10 hours ago

PGA HOPE at Fresno's Riverside Golf Course
10 hours ago

PGA HOPE at Riverside Golf Course Introduces Military Veterans to the Game

11 hours ago

Cronenworth’s Big Hit Helps Lift the Padres to a 6-4 Win Over Melvin’s Giants

11 hours ago

Shohei Ohtani Reaches 3 Times in Home Debut as the Dodgers Rout the Cardinals 7-1

11 hours ago

Facebook News Tab Will Soon Be Unavailable as Meta Scales Back News and Political Content

12 hours ago

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Rises to More Records to Close Out Its Latest Winning Month

12 hours ago

A Fresno County First: Kerman Council Passes Amended Gaza Cease-Fire Resolution

12 hours ago

UN Top Court Orders Israel to Open More Land Crossings for Aid into Gaza

12 hours ago

How Involved Is Southern California Consulting Firm in FUSD Executive Dealings?

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend