Adopt Reusable Foodware Ordinance - YES

Last year, we were approached by the County with an ask: they had just passed a reusable foodware ordinance that made great strides toward reducing plastic waste from foodware, and they wanted us to adopt an identical ordinance. While we agreed that something needed to be done about all this plastic waste, we had concerns that their approach would create a thicket of confusing new regulations for local businesses, while allowing many different kinds of plastic foodware to remain in use into the foreseeable future.

We always value coordination with the County, but in this case, we decided we needed to take an approach that was a better fit with our goals of pivoting away from fossil fuels and streamlining local government. What followed was months of engaged discussions with our community and local businesses, and the result was well worth the effort: today, I was proud to vote yes on a Reusable Foodware Ordinance that will make Corte Madera the first city in Marin County to effectively ban single-use plastic foodware!

The key difference between our approach and the County’s ordinance is t