Submitted By
Mindy Agnew, Sustainability Coordinator
Reviewed By
CLP
Agenda Item Title
Title
A Motion to Receive the Energy and Environment Commission’s Recommendation to Adopt an Ordinance Prohibiting the Use of Single-Use Plastics that Include Polystyrene Foam by All Eating Establishments and Schedule a Special Meeting for Review.
End
Overview
Overview
On May 20, 2019 the Village Board concurred with a recommendation from the Environment and Energy Commission (EEC) to create a “plastic free July campaign” for the restaurants in Oak Park. During that time, the EEC stated they would return to the Village Board and discuss the results of the campaign. On September 3, 2019 the EEC voted unanimously on a recommendation to the Village Board to pass an ordinance to ban single-use plastics that include polystyrene foam for all eating establishments. This item is to receive the report and then the Village Board will schedule this for review in an upcoming special meeting in January.
Body
Staff Recommendation
Approve the Motion
Fiscal Impact
N/A.
Background
Twelve restaurants participated in the Plastics Free Campaign in July. The EEC committed to meeting back with the Village Board to discuss the results of the campaign and consideration of an ordinance requiring the ban on single-use plastics for all eating establishments in Oak Park.
There is an increasing amount of discussion within environmental groups across the country about the negative impact of plastic drinking straws and all single-use plastics due to the associated pollution from this non-degradable plastic which pollutes beaches, waterways and oceans.
For example, the Shedd Aquarium partnered with other national organizations on the primary goal of reducing ocean and freshwater plastic pollution. These institutions are using a mix of consumer, business, and policy strategies to eliminate single-use plastic straws and bags in aquariums.
The EEC collaborated with local community groups that were actively examining this issue and, along with dedicated members of the Interfaith Green Network and the League of Women Voters (“LWV”), reached out to experts in the field such as Andrea Densham (Shedd Aquarium’s “Shedd the Straw” program), Surfrider foundation and Adam Ballard (Access Living), to draft recommendations that included the impact on restaurants and physically challenged and under-represented constituencies. As part of the PFJ campaign, the LWV had a number of flyers to educate restaurant staff and visited 90% of the local restaurants. They spoke with restaurant managers in Oak Park and received an eighty percent overall general endorsement of the effort. In addition to continued education and outreach, the team concluded that an ordinance would provide additional legitimacy to the effort.
The team compiled the input from surveys, personal interviews and examples from other municipalities (see attachments). As part of the analysis, the group considered points of reference from Malibu and Seattle as implementation benchmarks for Oak Park to learn from. The team developed a select set of options for Oak Park that included regulation of single use plastics. As a final step, the team took the additional step of drafting a sample ordinance that included the idea that any prospective enforcement fees go into a fund to support funding of a composting framework for Oak Park restaurants.
As a result of 5+ months of research, the EEC (at the February 11, 2019 Board meeting) recommended the following to address the reduction of single-use plastics, along with examples of city bans on single-use plastics and a sample ordinance for the Village of Oak Park:
1. Educate restaurant staff and Village residents on the use of plastic straws and other single-use plastics including plastic lids, containers and utensils. Together they contribute to high volumes of pollution, and most restaurant staff is not aware of the environmental impact.
2. Standardize to “upon request only” dispensing for single-use plastic items. A “customer request” recommendation is seen as the least offensive way to address groups who may request single-use plastics for physical, social, or economic reasons.
3. Implement data collection of single-use plastic inventory. Restaurants, EEC, Village staff and invested community groups should work together to collect baseline data about single-use plastics from Oak Park businesses. The data can be used to assess the plastic consumption.
Alternatives
The Village Board could direct staff to finalize a draft of the ordinance for adoption at the next Regular Meeting on December, 2019 or January, 2020
Previous Board Action
None.
Citizen Advisory Commission Action
None.
Anticipated Future Actions/Commitments
N/A.
Intergovernmental Cooperation Opportunities
N/A.
Performance Management (MAP) Alignment
N/A.