Submitted By
Marcella Bondie Keenan
Reviewed By
A.M. Zayyad, Deputy Village Manager
Agenda Item Title
Title
Concur with the Environment and Energy Commission and Adopt An Ordinance Amending Chapter 20 ("Public Health") of the Oak Park Village Code to Add a New Article 8 ("Single-Use Plastic Foodware and Polystyrene Food Packaging")
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Overview
Overview
The Single-Use Plastic Ordinance will require most food establishments to provide single-use plastic foodware items only upon customer request or at a self-service station for any delivery or takeout order. The Single-Use Plastic Ordinance will also prohibit food establishments from using polystyrene foam food packaging products by 2024.
In 2022, Village staff initiated the Oak Park Green Business technical assistance program, in partnership with the Illinois Green Business Program and Smart Energy Design Assistance Center. This program will continue to support local small businesses in transitioning away from single-use plastic and reducing energy and water use, in order to achieve cost savings and reduce negative environmental impact.
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Recommendation
Recommendation
Adopt the Ordinance.
Background
An estimated twenty-two million pounds of plastic enter the Great Lakes every year (Hoffman & Hittinger, 2017, Marine Pollution Bulletin). Plastic released into the environment deteriorates into plastic fragments; fragments less than five millimeters long are considered "microplastics" (Zhang et al., 2021, Environmental Pollution). Microplastics can pass through water filtration systems and be consumed by humans and wildlife (National Oceanic & Atmospheric Association, NOAA). Single-use plastic products may contain endocrine disrupters that alter hormone functioning (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, NIH), create litter, and degrade wildlife habitats (UN Environmental Programme, 2021, From Pollution to Solution: A global assessment of marine litter and plastic pollution).
In 2022...
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