Nevada City Municipal Code Ch. 8.38 Foodware and Food Packaging

The council of the City of Nevada City finds and declares as follows:

A. The production and disposal of disposable food and beverage packaging has significant environmental impacts, including the contamination of the environment, the depletion of natural resources, use of non-renewable fossil fuels, and greenhouse gas emissions.

B. Food and beverage packaging makes up 25% of all waste produced in California and comprises the majority of street litter.

C. Disposable expanded polystyrene products and packaging are a distinctive concern because this type of litter is lightweight and can easily break down and spread into the natural environment.

D. It is in the interest of the health, safety, and welfare of all who live, work, and recreate in the City of Nevada City that the amount of litter on public streets, parks, outdoor recreation areas, and other public spaces be reduced.

E. Most disposable foodware is not recyclable after use because it becomes contaminated with food and grease.

F. Many types of disposable foodware are not accepted in commercial compost facilities because they cause contamination and lower the quality and value of compost.

G. Eliminating solid waste and litter at its source meets the City of Nevada City's 2022-2027 Strategic Plan, embedded strategic initiative of Climate: Planning for and building resilience through adaptation to climate change.

H. Reducing disposable packaging by eliminating unnecessary items and transitioning to reusable products provides greater environmental benefits than managing the products that become waste, even when recycled or composted.

(Ord. No. 2025-04, § 2, 5-14-2025)

As used in this chapter, the terms set forth below shall have the following meanings:

Disposable takeout container means a container meant to package and store food from a restaurant or other prepared food vendor, which is designed for a single use rather than designed and manufactured to be washed and sanitized and to be used repeatedly over an extended period of time, including without limitation any container, bowl, plate, tray, carton, or box provided to the customer which does not meet the definition of "reusable foodware" set forth herein.

Disposable cup means a beverage cup designed for single use to serve beverages, such as water, cold drinks, hot drinks and alcoholic beverages provided to the customer which does not meet the definition of "reusable foodware" set forth herein.

Expanded polystyrene means blown polystyrene and expanded and extruded foams (including without limitation the form of expanded polystyrene insulation which is known as 'Styrofoam', a trademark of Dow Chemical Co.) which are thermoplastic petrochemical materials utilizing a styrene monomer and processed by various techniques, including without limitation fusion of polymer spheres (expandable bead polystyrene), injection molding, foam molding, and extrusion blow molding (extruded foam polystyrene). Expanded polystyrene does not include clear or solid polystyrene (oriented polystyrene).

Pre-packaged food means food that arrives at the premises of the restaurant or other food vendor in a container or wrapper and is not removed from the container or wrapper before its sale or distribution.

Prepared food means foods or beverages which are prepared on the vendor's premises by cooking, chopping, slicing, mixing, freezing, squeezing, or other processing and which require no further preparation to be consumed. Prepared food does not include raw uncooked whole fruits or vegetables which are not chopped, squeezed, or mixed, or raw uncooked meat products.

Prepared food vendor means any establishment located within the City of Nevada City, including a bakery, cafeteria, drive in, food products store, food service establishment, restaurant (carry out, quick service, full service), drugstore, theater, bar, food truck, food cart, food stand, communal or shared kitchens, food sold at City of Nevada City permitted special events; and all alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage vendors including but not limited to breweries, distilleries, and kombucharies, or other similar establishment, selling prepared food to be consumed on and/or off its premises.

Reusable foodware means all foodware, including plates, bowls, cups, trays, glasses, straws, stirrers, condiment cups and utensils, that is manufactured of durable materials and that is specifically designed and manufactured to be washed and sanitized and to be used repeatedly over an extended period of time, and is safe for washing and sanitizing according to applicable regulations.

Single-use foodware accessory means single-use items provided along with ready-to- eat food, including without limitation napkins, forks, knives, spoons, sporks, chopsticks, condiment cups and packets, straws, stirrers, splash sticks, cocktail sticks, cup sleeves, and cup lids.

Standard condiment means relishes, spices, sauces, confections, or seasonings that require no additional preparation and that are usually used on a food item after preparation, including ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, soy sauce, hot sauce, salsa, salt, pepper, sugar, and sugar substitutes.

(Ord. No. 2025-04, § 2, 5-14-2025)

A. Effective August 1, 2025, except as set forth herein, no restaurant, retail store, food vendor, or other business or person shall sell, distribute, or provide to customers expanded polystyrene, including without limitation by selling food which is packaged partially or entirely in expanded polystyrene, nor shall any business purchase, obtain, keep, or otherwise use in its business any expanded polystyrene product.

B. The prohibition set forth in subsection A of this section shall not apply to: (i) expanded polystyrene products which are wholly encapsulated or encased within a more durable material, such as coolers or ice chests which encase expanded polystyrene in rigid plastic; or (ii) the sale of food packaged outside Nevada City, provided that this exception shall not apply to egg cartons and trays for meat, fish, and fruit or vegetables sold in grocery stores.

C. For a period of one year from the effective date of this section, a restaurant, retail store, food vendor, or other business or person may apply to the City of Nevada City for a one-year hardship exemption to be permitted to continue using one or more specific expanded polystyrene items for which the requirements of this section present an undue hardship or practical difficulty because there are no available non-polystyrene alternatives or such alternatives are not affordable to the restaurant, retail store, food vendor, or other business or person.

(Ord. No. 2025-04, § 2, 5-14-2025)

A. Effective March 1, 2026, except as set forth herein, prepared food served for consumption on the premises of a prepared food vendor shall only be served using reusable foodware.

B. The requirement of subsection A of this section shall not apply to disposable paper food wrappers; aluminum foil food wrappers; paper napkins; straws; paper tray or plate liners; non-plastic stirrers, cocktail sticks, and toothpicks; popcorn tubs or other containers for popcorn or similar snacks; ice cream cups or other containers for ice cream or similar frozen foods; or pre-packaged food packaged outside the premises of the prepared food vendor.

C. The requirements of subsection A of this section shall not apply to Mobile Food Facilities or Temporary Food Facilities as defined by CA Health and Safety Code Sections 113831 and 113930 and as amended.

D. A restaurant or other food vendor may apply to the City of Nevada City for a one-year hardship exemption to be permitted to continue using foodware which is not reusable foodware. Each application for a hardship exemption shall provide evidence of the conditions which make it impossible for the restaurant or other food vendor to comply with the reusable foodware requirement, such as insurmountable space constraints, undue financial hardship and/or other extraordinary, insurmountable circumstances.

E. Prior to the City of Nevada City issuing a land use permit or building permit for new construction or conversions, any restaurant or other prepared food vendor shall submit to the city a plan demonstrating ability to comply with this section. Installation and/or maintenance of appropriate dishwashing capacity to allow compliance with this section shall be included as a specific condition of approval for such permits.

(Ord. No. 2025-04, § 2, 5-14-2025)

A. Customers may provide their own reusable foodware for beverage and food service in accordance with the California Health and Safety Code.

B. Food vendors shall keep all customer provided reusable foodware separated from the food facility's foodware to prevent any cross-contamination.

C. Food vendor staff filling customer provided foodware shall prevent cross-contamination of food contact surfaces or utensils used for food dispensing (e.g. customer foodware should be placed upon surfaces that are not used for food preparation and on surfaces that can be sanitized immediately).

D. Food vendors may refuse, at their sole discretion, any customer-provided reusable foodware that is cracked, chipped or corroded, appears inappropriate in size, material, or condition for the intended beverage or food item, or that appears to be excessively soiled or unsanitary.

E. If the customer provided reusable foodware is rejected, the food vendor may instead require use of reusable foodware for consumption on the premises of the food service establishment, or use of a disposable foodware item for a beverage or food item to be consumed off the premises of the food service establishment, together with the charge required pursuant to section 8.38.050.

(Ord. No. 2025-04, § 2, 5-14-2025)

A. Effective August 1, 2025, except as set forth herein, a restaurant or other food vendor, shall not provide any single-use foodware accessory or standard condiment packaged for single use to a customer unless the single-use foodware accessory or standard condiment is requested by the customer.

B. Single-use foodware accessories and standard condiments packaged for single use provided by restaurants or other food vendors for use by customers shall not be bundled or packaged in a manner that prevents a customer from taking only the type of single-use foodware accessory or standard condiment desired without also having to take a different type of single-use foodware accessory or standard condiment.

C. A restaurant or other food vendor may ask a to-go consumer if the consumer wants a single-use foodware accessory if the single-use foodware accessory is necessary for the customer to consume ready-to-eat food, or to prevent spills of or safely transport ready-to-eat food.

D. A third-party food delivery platform shall provide customers with the option to request single-use foodware accessories or standard condiments from a restaurant or other food vendor serving ready-to-eat food.

E. If a restaurant or other food vendor uses any third-party delivery platform for ready-to-eat food, the restaurant or other food vendor shall customize its menu with a list of available single-use foodware accessories and standard condiments, and only those single-use foodware accessories or standard condiments selected by the customer shall be provided by the food facility. If a customer does not select any single- use foodware accessories or standard condiments, no single-use foodware accessory or standard condiment shall be provided by the restaurant or other food vendor for delivery of ready-to-eat food.

F. Nothing in this section shall prohibit a restaurant or other food vendor from making unwrapped single-use foodware accessories available to a customer using refillable self-service dispensers that dispense one item at a time to allow for single-use foodware accessories to be obtained.

G. Nothing in this section shall prohibit a food facility from making standard condiments available to a consumer using refillable self-service dispensers to allow for standard condiments to be obtained. A food facility that offers standard condiments is encouraged to use bulk dispensers for the condiments rather than condiments packaged for single use.

(Ord. No. 2025-04, § 2, 5-14-2025)