ORD 89-03 PROHIBIT NON BIODEGRADABLE PACKAGINGRevised Draft: 2/28/89
ORDINANCE NO. 89-03
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF WINSLOW PROHIBITING
THE USE OF NON BIODEGRADABLE pACKAGING MATERIALS.
WHEREAS, the City of Winslow finds that discarded
packaging constitutes a growing quantity of waste within the
City of Winslow's waste stream and, is therefore, a necessary
focus of any effort to reduce the filling of the landfills
within Kitsap County, as well as to reduce the economic and
environmental costs of solid waste management for the
citizens of this County; and
WHEREAS, the City of Winslow finds that as the number
of take-out food restaurants increases and the amount of
take-out foods available in grocery and convenience food
stores increases, the amount of discarded packaging material
will increase to be environmentally and economically
detrimental to the citizens of the City of Winslow; and
WHEREAS, the City of Winslow finds that discarded
non-biodegradable packaging and plastic contained within the
waste stream of Kitsap County is one increment of the
problems associated with municipal waste disposal; and
WHEREAS, unlike biodegradable materials, materials
made in whole or part of polystyrene plastic do not break
down for decades, and that such plastics will constitute an
ever compounding portion of the sanitary land fills in Kitsap
County; and
WHEREAS, the City of Winslow finds that landfill
space within Kitsap County is diminishing rapidly; that State
law currently in effect makes the establishment of new
landfills in Kitsap County costly that, for both economic and
environmental reasons, measures to simplify the chemical
complexity of solid waste and, thereby, streamline solid
waste management must be vigorously pursued; and
WHEREAS, the City of Winslow finds that the chemical
composition and ability of a substance to biodegrade are
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meaningful and useful criteria to focus upon when
establishing public policy that is intended to improve the
management and disposal of solid waste; and
WHEREAS, the City of Winslow has adopted a policy
supporting recycling in Winslow and Kitsap County which is
one incremental step toward solving the solid waste problem,
and
WHEREAS, there are no recycling programs for plastics
within Kitsap County; and
WHEREAS, the City of Winslow has determined that
there are reasonable replacement alternatives that are
biodegradable for many non-biodegradable and non-recyclable
packaging materials;
WHEREAS, the City of Winslow has determined also that
there are certain non-biodegradable packaging materials for
which there are no reasonable replacement alternatives at the
present time; and
WHEREAS, the City of Winslow finds that large
quantities of litter are deposited along roadsides and in
public places. This litter is unsightly, degrades the
environment visually, and is costly to clean up; and
WHEREAS, the City of Winslow finds that discarded
packaging material constitutes a large quantity of the litter
along its roadsides and in public places and is, therefore, a
necessary focus of any effort to reduce the total quantity of
litter; and
WHEREAS, the City of Winslow has determined that
based on public works observations made when picking up
litter, the packaging items prohibited by this ordinance are
the ones most persistent and which constitute the major
litter burden upon public resources, and
WHEREAS, Kitsap County has undertaken the
environmental studies to support this ordinance as part of
the process of adopting its Solid Waste Management Plan;
WHEREAS, the City of Winslow has received a large
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amount of input both written and oral, and finds that on
balance, the benefits of this legislation outweigh the
inconveniences; and
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Winslow,
Washington, desires to incrementallY eliminate the use of
polystyrene plastic at retail establishments within the
City of Winslow in order to protect the health, welfare, and
safety of the citizens of the City of Winslow; now,
therefore,
THE MAYOR AND THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WINSLOW,
WASHINGTON, DO ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS;
Section 1. Definitions-
A. "Packaging" shall mean all food-related
wrappings, boxes, containers and disposable or non-reusable
plates, cups, or drinking utensils-
B. "Biodegradable" materials shall mean those made
of cellulose based or other substances that are capable of
being readily attacked, decomposed, assimilated, and
otherwise completely oxidized or broken down by bacteria or
other natural biological organisms into carbonaceous soil
material or water and carbon dioxide within a reasonable
period of time.
C. "Non-biodegradable" materials shall mean those
made in whole or in part of polystyrene plastic-
D. "Retail Food Establishment" shall mean all sales
outlets, stores, shops or other places of business located
within the City of Winslow, which sell or convey foods
directly to the ultimate consumer. "Retail Food
Establishment" shall include, but not be limited to, any
place where food is prepared, mixed, cooked, baked, smoked,
preserved, bottled, packaged, handled, stored, manufactured,
and sold or offered for sale, including, but not limited to,
any fixed or mobile restaurant; drive-in; coffee shop;
cafeteria; short-order cafe; delicatessen; luncheonette;
grill; sandwich shop; soda fountain; tavern; bar; cocktail
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lounge; nightclub; roadside stand; take-out prepared food
establishment; industrial feeding establishment; catering
kitchen; commissary; grocery store; public food market; food
stand; or similar place in which food or drink is prepared
for sale or for service on the premises or elsewhere; and any
other establishment or operation, including homes, where food
is processed, prepared, stored, served or provided for the
public for charge.
Section 2. Prohibition.
A. No retail food establishment licensed to do
business or required to be licensed within the City of
Winslow shall sell or convey food directly to ultimate
consumers within the City of Winslow unless such food is
placed, wrapped, or packed in biodegradable packaging at the
conclusion of a sales transaction for the purchase of such
food.
B. No retail food establishment licensed to do
business or required to be licensed within the City of
Winslow shall sell, give, or provide food containers to any
persons within the City of Winslow if such food container is
composed of non-biodegradable materials-
Section 3. Exemptions.
Section 2, of this law shall not apply to the
following items:
A. Any flexible transparent covering;
B. Any food packaging used at hospitals, nursing
homes;
C. Any paper or other cellulose-based packaging that
is coated with polyethelene plastic on only one side, or wax
coated;
D. Any plastic covers, covering material, food
containers, or lids that are biodegradable;
E. Any glass container or glass packaging which is
recyclable;
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F. Any plastic bags dispensed at the request of a
customer at the check-out counter of a grocery store for the
purpose of carrying groceries, provided that paper bags are
customarily dispensed for that purpose;
G. Plastic eating utensils, such as forks, knives or
spoons, straws, or beverage container covers; and
H. Any foods sold by a retail food establishment
packaged by a wholesale distributor, manufacturer, processor,
bakery or similar wholesaler whose premises is located
outside the City of Winslow; provided not more than ten (10)
percent of the total volume of food sold at the retail food
establishment is packaged in non-biodegradable packaging.
Section 4. Rules and Regulations.
The city administrator charged with the enforcement
of this ordinance shall be authorized from time to time to
adopt reasonable rules and regulations for its
implementation, which shall be consistent with these
provisions.
Section 5. Severability.
If any provision hereof is found to be unenforceable,
the remaining provisions shall be in full force and effect.
Section 6. Penalties.
Any person violating any of the provisions of this
chapter shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be fined in an amount not exceeding
five hundred dollars, or be imprisoned in the county jail for
a period not exceeding six months, or be both so fined and
imprisoned. Each such violation committed or permitted to
continue shall constitute a separate offense and shall be
punishable as such under this section.
Section 7. This ordinance or a summary of the title
shall be published in the official newspaper of the City of
Winslow, Washington, and shall take effect and be in full
force six (6) months after publication and posting as
required by law.
ALICE B. TAWRESEY, Mayor~
· C
R'OBERT O. CONOLEY, ity itt
FILED WITH THE CITY CLERK: February 24, 1989
PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL: March 2, 1989
pUBLISHED: March 15, 1989
EFFECTIVE DATE: March 20, 1989
ORDINANCE NO. 89 - 03
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