BEVERLY HILLS—The city of Beverly Hills announced on its Facebook page that it will be holding a virtual workshop on Monday, June 24 to educate the community regarding the regulation of single-use plastic and expanded polystyrene.
On March 18, the Beverly Hills City Council adopted an ordinance prohibiting the distribution of single-use plastic and expanded polystyrene (e.g., Styrofoam) foodware.
The ordinance will decrease plastic waste by requiring food facilities that provide disposable foodware to use compostables or recyclable items, impacting businesses such as restaurants, grocery stores, hotels, and pharmacies. Items that will be permitted include compostable 100 percent fiber-based, free of PFAs & non-fiber additives. Items that are recyclable will also be permitted as long as they are unlined aluminum & containers with a CRV value.
Single-use plastic foodware and expanded polystyrene (e.g., Styrofoam) products comprise a significant proportion of Beverly Hills’ waste production, dominating landfills. Such items also pollute streets, critical waterways, and local ecosystems, breaking down into hazardous microplastics that accumulate in perpetuity. Additionally, producing conventional plastics and expanded polystyrene depends on extracting and processing fossil fuels, resulting in significant greenhouse gas emissions.
Key provisions
-Food facilities cannot provide single-use articles* to customers with ready-to-eat food, including cutlery, straws, and containers, unless they are compostable or recyclable. This requirement also applies to food trays and egg cartons.
-Retail establishments cannot sell, rent, or offer expanded polystyrene products to customers.
-Third-party online food ordering businesses must allow food facilities to indicate which single-use foodware accessories they offer and allow customers to select which accessories, if any, will be included with their order.
-Full-service restaurants may only provide multiservice utensils, which are designed to be cleaned and reused, to customers for consumption on the premises.
*A single-use article is any disposable foodware item used to serve, consume, transport, or contain food or beverages. This term includes plates, bowls, clamshells, pizza boxes, cups, trays, egg cartons, and wrappers, among other items. It also includes single-use foodware accessories provided alongside ready-to-eat food, such as forks, knives, spoons, chopsticks, straws, stirrers, spill plugs, hot beverage sleeves, cup lids, napkins, and condiment containers.
Impacted Businesses
Most retailers and food facilities, including restaurants, grocery stores, hotels, and pharmacies, will have until March 18, 2025, to comply. Mobile facilities and farmers’ market vendors must comply by September 18, 2025, and March 18, 2026, respectively.
To further educate the community, the virtual meeting will be held via zoom on June 24, 2024, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. To learn more visit beverlyhills.org/plasticandfoam for additional details.
By Trevor