The Manager's report back on the success of the Polystyrene Ordinance

Prior to the ordinance becoming effective, staff from the Department of Public Works visited nearly all 500 affected food establishments to inform them of the new ordinance, advise them about how to come into compliance and shared with them alternatives vis-à-vis non-polystyrene products. http://www.cambridgema.gov/theworks/ourservices/recyclingandtrash Prior to October 20th, 2016, Twenty- five (25) businesses applied for exemptions to the ordinance to drawdown their stock of polystyrene items (Section 8.70.060 para 3) and exemptions of various durations were granted in accordance with the ordinance and reflective of remaining volumes of inventory.

All exemptions have now expired.

In conducting additional outreach and inspections during late-2017 and early-2018, DPW staff visited approximately 125 businesses throughout the City and of those visited 90% were found to be in compliance with the ordinance. We are presently working with those stores that continue to have difficulties so as to bring them into compliance as soon as possible. Starting again in April 2018, DPW will continue conducting random inspections of various food establishment that prepare food and provide such to their customers in various containers.

Continuing Non-compliance will be enforced under Section 8.70.070, Chapter A: “Any Food Establishment who shall violate any provision of this Chapter shall be liable for a fine of not more than $300 and each day’s violation shall constitute a separate offense.”

Feedback from Businesses:

As was indicated previously, the polystyrene ordinance has been met with some confusion, skepticism and some resistance from various business owners across the city. The confusion, skepticism and resistance are caused by a number of factors:

• Expanded Polystyrene vs Oriented Polystyrene.

The Polystyrene Ordinance prohibits food establishments “from dispensing Prepared Food to customers in Disposable Food Service Containers made from Polystyrene.” The Ordinance defines Polystyrene as both “expanded polystyrene” and ‘oriented polystyrene.’ Most businesses understand what expanded polystyrene is (better known as Styrofoam), but many don’t understand how to determine if an item is oriented polystyrene (examples include hot cup lids, cold cup lids, and condiment cups) or not.

This continues to be identified as a reason for non- compliance among businesses. While most of the plastics in service ware do have a recycle symbol with a number to indicate what type of plastic the item is composed of, there are those that don’t and such continues to cause confusion and frustration. At the outset it was noted that oriented polystyrene was much more prevalent than expanded polystyrene. Some businesses had more than 5 oriented polystyrene items but no expanded polystyrene.

• Financial Burden. We have heard from businesses concerning the cost of alternative products. For example; at a Harvard Square establishment, one service item increased in cost from $0.03/unit to $0.50/unit. In North Cambridge another retailer indicated that their new containers cost three times more after the ordinance went into effect.

• Alternative Products. At the outset a number of businesses found it challenging to source alternative compliant containers, such as coffee lids etc. DPW has distributed and posted information on the DPW website of vendors that food establishments may contact to find compliant products. DPW has also worked with popular food-service vendors for small businesses, such as Restaurant Depot in Everett who seem to be a commonly used vendor among small businesses and who can supply alternatives for most items that are sought.