Single-Use Plastics Could Be Banned From Stamford Restaurants, Other Establishments

STAMFORD, CT — An ordinance making its way through the Stamford Board of Representatives could ban single-use plastics, such as takeout containers, cups, lids, utensils and straws, from city restaurants and other establishments where food or drinks are prepared and packaged.

The proposed ordinance was submitted by Reps. Karen Camporeale (D-18), Megan Cottrell (D-4), Virgil de la Cruz (D-2), Jeffrey Stella (D-9), Nina Sherwood (D-8), and Ashley Ley (D-20).

"The purpose of this ordinance is to reduce environmental waste and the harmful effects of Single-Use Food Ware by requiring the use of Reusable Food Ware in Dine-In Establishments and Biodegradable Food Ware for Take-Out Orders in the City of Stamford," the ordinance says.

The ordinance notes that "the physical breakdown of plastic disposable Food Ware, including flatware, stirrers, cups, liquid splash sticks, and take-out containers, results in microplastics that enter the environment, food chain, and ultimately accumulate in the human body, leading to adverse health and environmental effects."

Additionally, the ordinance says "only a small portion of recyclable materials actually get recycled, and the City of Stamford can no longer sell its recyclables, resulting in single-use items costing Stamford taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars in hauling costs."

During a March 25 Board of Reps. Legislative and Rules Committee meeting, Camporeale also said the ordinance would help save businesses money.

According to the proposed ordinance, dine-in establishments must use reusable food ware for all on-premises consumption of food or beverages, with the exception of napkins which can be paper-based. The use of single-use food ware in dine-in establishments, including plastic utensils, plates, cups and trays, is prohibited.

A dine-in establishment is defined as "any business or institution in the City of Stamford that serves food or beverages for on-premises consumption, including but not limited to restaurants, cafeterias, cafes, bars, hospitals, schools, and senior living facilities."

"Reusable food ware" is "made from durable, non-plastic materials such as metal, ceramic, glass, bamboo, or wood, designed and intended for repeated use," the ordinance states.

The ordinance defines "single-use food ware" as food ware that's designed for one-time use, including items made of plastic, paper, or other disposable materials."

Dine-in establishments shall not provide plastic-lined food ware, and they shall provide straws and stirrers only upon customer request, the ordinance says, noting that straws and stirrers shall be biodegradable food ware and shall not contain plastic.

Take-out orders shall not be packaged in plastic-lined food ware, the ordinance says. Single-use food ware made of plastic is prohibited for take-out orders, except for containers containing soup or other liquid.

Additionally, the soup and liquid containers can only be made of plastics labeled with certain resin identification codes.

The use of black plastic containers is prohibited regardless of what resin ID code is used, the ordinance notes.

Amber Schmidt, New England Zero Waste Organizer for ReThink Disposable at Clean Water Fund, said during the March 25 meeting that black plastic is "problematic" and contains the toxic chemical styrene, which is the hard version of styrofoam - a material Stamford already has a ban on.

"We know it's federally recognized as a possible human carcinogen, so there is a health impact there when it comes to banning it," Schmidt said of styrene. "It cannot be recycled."

"Accessories," including but not limited to utensils, napkins, straws, stirrers and condiments, shall not be provided automatically with take-out orders. The items must be provided upon specific customer request, or through self-service stations accessible to customers, and must be biodegradable, the ordinance says.

Schmidt has assisted other municipalities on the issue of single-use plastics.

"The goal is to reduce our exposure to plastics and the toxics within them, while also eliminating street litter and the ongoing cost to the state and the cities to be shipping waste further and further away because we don't have the capacity in Connecticut to continue to trash and burn and landfill our items," she said during the March meeting. "What this ordinance does is it gets rid of the problematic plastics."

Those plastics cannot get recycled and they're filling landfills. When the plastics are burning in incinerators, they're polluting neighboring communities, Schmidt said.

The ordinance would go into effect six months after passage.

The Stamford Health Department, along with any other city department or agency designated by the mayor, shall be responsible for enforcing the ordinance.

According to the language, the first violation would result in a written notice, and subsequent violations would come with a $250 fine.

Money collected from violations would be deposited into a dedicated account called the Sustainability Fund, which would support sustainability initiatives and the enforcement and administration of the ordinance, the proposed language says.

A public hearing on the proposed ordinance was scheduled for April 29 during the Board of Reps. Legislative and Rules Committee meeting.

More information on the proposed ordinance can be found here.