City Council urged to ban foam food containers and limit plastic forks, knives, straws

Chicago restaurants and carryout places would be prohibited from using foam containers under a proposal to combat “plastic pollution.” | Getty

Chicago restaurants and carryout places would be prohibited from using foam containers and required to provide plastic straws and food utensils only on request under a sweeping ordinance proposed by a top mayoral ally Wednesday to curb “plastic pollution.”

The ordinance championed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s handpicked Finance Committee Chairman Scott Waguespack (32^nd) was hailed by Illinois Environmental Council President Jen Walling as the “strongest ordinance in the Midwest” and a “mirror” of some of the strongest ordinances in the country.

The “Plastic Free Water” ordinance would give restaurant and carryout joints until Jan. 1, 2021, to stop selling or serving food in, with or on polystyrene containers regardless of where the food will be consumed.

Accessory disposable foodware items like plastic eating utensils “shall be provided, only upon request by the customer or at self-serve stations.”

The ordinance states “for safety reasons, disposable cups for delivery” by a restaurant or take-out delivery service “may include lids, spill plugs and sleeves without request.”

Plastic drinking straws “must be provided when specifically requested.” That exception was made at the request of Access Living to accommodate customers with disabilities who “need plastic straws to live,” the sponsors said.

Illinois Restaurant Association President Sam Toia argued the ordinance would impose a severe hardship on restaurants already forced to endure a host of increased costs. They include a higher minimum wage, an increased restaurant tax, paid sick leave, a ban on plastic single use plastic bags ultimately replaced by a bag tax, a predictable scheduling ordinance and higher property taxes.

“There’s a lot of anxiety out there with these small-business owners. A lot of education and communication needs to go on on both sides to see if we can get to a middle and not kill the quick-service, small restaurants that are the backbone of our 77 neighborhoods,” Toia said.

Toia said there is no question the proposed ban would “add to the cost” of running a restaurant and reduce already slim profit margins.

Plastic utensils would be available only upon request under the “Plastic Free Water” ordinance.

“There are some restaurants out there that buy for the year or six months in advance. What if they have a whole warehouse of straws and plasticware. How do we deal with that? They would have to eat all of that cost?” Toia said.

Toia also raised health concerns about allowing customers to use “their own Tupperware and plasticware” to carry the food and beverages they buy.

“What if that glass that you’re bringing in, that container you’re bringing in is not clean. There’s bacteria in that glass. You get a food-borne illness. The restaurant would say, `That wasn’t us,’” Toia said.

Walling and Waguespack scoffed at those arguments. They argued there are cost-effective alternatives to foam and plastics and that the trail blazed in other environmentally conscious cities like San Francisco is proof-positive that the restaurant industry can not only adjust but thrive under a similar ban.

“We know that the plastic pollution is a problem in communities across Illinois. And our hope as the Illinois Environmental Council is that the city demonstrating leadership on this issue can motivate the state legislature to pass similar legislation protecting the entire state,” Walling said.

Waguespack pointed to Chicago’s dismal 9% recycling rate and its costly recycling contracts as evidence of the need to do something more dramatic to reduce landfill costs.

“It is costing us tens of millions of dollars to recycle — and we’re not doing a good job. We have to work … to reduce this waste because it’s having not just an environmental but a fiscal impact on the city,” Waguespack said.

“The EU has already moved to ban single-use plastics. That’s 28 countries. So any of us that travel ... are gonna go to Europe, are gonna go to Asia. We’re gonna be in a position of asking for a straw or asking for single-use plastics at restaurants throughout the rest of the world. Even in Canada.”

Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd) discusses the “Plastic Free Water” ordinance that would ban foam containers and limit plastic utensils in Chicago.

Waguespack said many restaurant companies are already looking to reduce their waste.

“It’s less cost for them in the long run. They’re also environmentally conscious organizations. So they want to do the same thing that we do. We’re moving slowly on this. We’re not trying to put anybody in a position where it’s economically unfeasible to do this,” the alderman said.

Ald. Susan Sadlowski-Garza (10th) said her Southeast Side has nine landfills, “many of which have millions of pounds of non-reusable plastics.”

“Today’s throw-away culture and excessive use of single-use plastic is unsustainable,” Garza said.

“The city took a progressive stance when we implemented [a tax] on single-use bags. Now, it’s time to take a step further and get rid of single-use plastics so we can be sure to leave an environment that’s sustainable and healthy for our kids and grandchildren.”