Ordinance No. 2022-21 Amending Chapter 8.24 BIMC Waste Reduction (Adopted 110822)Page 1 of 6
ORDINANCE NO. 2022-21
AN ORDINANCE of the City of Bainbridge Island, Washington,
amending Chapter 8.24 of the Bainbridge Island Municipal Code.
WHEREAS, the City Council adopted changes to Chapter 8.24 of the Bainbridge Island
Municipal Code (“BIMC”) on November 9, 2021 to reduce single-use plastic waste associated
with food retail and lodging establishments; and
WHEREAS, the previously adopted changes to Chapter 8.24 BIMC addressed an
immediate action identified in the Bainbridge Island Climate Action Plan, adopted by the City
Council in 2020, to reduce the use of single-use plastics to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions
and marine pollution; and
WHEREAS, the previously adopted changes to Chapter 8.24 BIMC included the
addition of definitions for many terms but did not include definitions for the terms “Condiment”
and “Personal Care Product”; and
WHEREAS, the previously adopted changes to Chapter 8.24 BIMC included a reference
to the Compost Manufacturer’s Alliance, which is actually the Compost Manufacturing Alliance;
and
WHEREAS, providing definitions for the terms “Condiment” and “Personal Care
Product” and correcting the name of the Compost Manufacturing Alliance will provide
additional clarifying information to support implementation of Chapter 8.24 BIMC.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAINBRIDGE
ISLAND, WASHINGTON, DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Section 8.24.005 of the Bainbridge Island Municipal Code is hereby amended
to read as follows:
8.24.005 Definitions.
A. “ASTM Standard Specification” means an explicit set of requirements to be satisfied
by a material, product, system, or service established by meeting the standards of the American
Society for Testing and Materials (“ASTM”).
B. “Biodegradable Products Institute,” or “BPI,” refers to a certification program that
ensures that compostable products and packaging displaying the BPI logo have been
independently tested and verified to meet certain standards.
C. “Compost Manufacturing Alliance,” or “CMA,” refers to a certification program that
ensures that compostable products displaying the CMA logo have been independently tested
and verified to meet certain standards.
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D. “Condiment” means relishes, spices, sauces, confections, or seasonings that require no
additional preparation and are usually used on a food item after preparation, and includes, but is
not limited to, different types such as ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, soy sauce, hot sauce, salsa,
salt, pepper, and sugar/sugar substitutes.
DE. “Disposable” means designed to be discarded after a single or limited number of
uses, not manufactured for long-term multiple reuse, and/or is not reusable as defined herein.
EF. “Fluorinated chemicals” means perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances
(PFAS chemicals) or chemicals which are a class of fluorinated organic chemicals containing at
least one fluorinated carbon atom.
FG. “Food service ware” means a product intended to be used for serving, distributing,
holding, packaging, and/or transporting prepared food including, but not limited to, plates,
bowls, cups, trays, deli rounds, clamshells and other hinged or lidded containers, food contact
paper (e.g., wraps, bags, tray liners), and portion cups. The term food service ware also includes
food service accessories including, but not limited to, lids, straws, stirrers, cup spill plugs, cup
sleeves, condiment packets, utensils, cocktail sticks/picks, toothpicks, napkins, and the
packaging that any of these individual items are wrapped in.
GH. “Home compostable” means comprised of natural fiber as defined below, and/or
able to break down or otherwise become part of usable compost in a safe and a timely manner
in a non-industrial composting environment. Any food service ware item that is “OK Compost
HOME” certified by TÜV Austria will be presumed to satisfy this definition. In the event that
an ASTM standard for home compostable products that meets or exceeds the OK Compost
HOME certification is established, any food service ware item certified as satisfying that
standard will satisfy this definition.
HI. “Industrial composting facility” means a large-scale professional composting facility
which processes significant amounts of organic waste, including food service ware certified as
industrial compostable, through a controlled biotechnological process, regulating factors such as
particle size, moisture content, aeration, temperature, pH, and carbon/nitrogen ratio.
IJ. “Lodging establishment” means an establishment that contains one or more sleeping
room accommodation(s) that is rented or otherwise provided to the public, including, but not
limited to, a hotel, motel, resort, bed and breakfast inn, or vacation rental (including lodging
provided through hosting services such as Airbnb and VRBO).
JK. “Natural fiber” means a plant-based, non-synthetic fiber, including, but not limited
to, products made from paper, wood and wood-pulp, sugar cane, bamboo, wheat stems/stalk,
and hay.
L. “Personal care product” includes, but is not limited to, hand soap, body wash,
shampoo, conditioner, and lotion.
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KM. “Expanded Polystyrene” means blown polystyrene and expanded and extruded
foams which are thermoplastic petrochemical materials utilizing a styrene monomer and
processed by any number of techniques including, but not limited to, fusion of polymer spheres
(expandable bead polystyrene), injection molding, foam molding, and extrusion-blown molding
(extruded foam polystyrene).
LN. “Prepackaged food” means food service ware that has been filled with food and
sealed by a separate food service business or food manufacturer prior to receipt by the point-of-
sale retail establishment. “Prepackaged food” includes a utensil, straw, or other item physically
attached for purposes of retail sale to a food service ware prior to receipt by the point-of-sale
retail establishment.
MO. “Prepared Food” means food or beverages that undergo a cooking or food
preparation technique on or off the retail food establishment’s premises for consumption by the
public. Cooking and food preparation techniques include, but are not limited to, the following:
1. Cooking methods utilizing the application of heat, such as steaming,
microwaving, simmering, boiling, broiling, grilling, frying, or roasting;
2. Beverage preparation, such as blending, brewing, steeping, juicing, diluting, or
pouring;
3. Food preparation techniques, such as defrosting, rinsing, washing, diluting,
cutting, portioning, mixing, blending, assembling, coating, dipping, garnishing,
decorating, or icing.
“Prepared food” does not include raw eggs or raw, butchered meats, fish, and/or poultry sold
from a butcher case, a refrigerator case, or similar retail appliance.
NP. “Retail establishment” means any person, corporation, partnership, business, facility,
vendor, organization, or individual that sells or provides merchandise, goods, or materials
directly to a customer, including to a “retail food establishment.” “Retail establishment”
includes, but is not limited to, retail food establishments, grocery stores, department stores,
hardware stores, home or business delivery services, pharmacies, liquor stores, restaurants,
catering trucks, convenience stores, or other retail stores or vendors, including temporary stores
or vendors at farmers markets, street fairs, and festivals.
OQ. “Retail food establishment” means all sales outlets, stores, shops, or other places of
business located within the city, 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 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
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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.
PR. “Reusable” means an item subject to this chapter designed and manufactured to
maintain its shape and structure, and to be materially durable for repeated (at least 1,000 times
each) sanitizing in water at 171 degrees Fahrenheit for at least 30 continuous seconds, washing
via commercial dishwashing machine, and reuse.
QS. “Single-use” means a product that is designed to be used once and discarded, and/or
is not reusable as defined herein.
RT. “TÜV Austria” means the corporation that certifies categories of compostable
products including the certification of “OK Compost HOME” which classifies products as being
able to be composted at ambient temperatures and with a natural microbial community (e.g., in a
home compost environment).
SU. “Utensil” means a product designed to be used by a consumer to facilitate the
consumption of food or beverages, including knives, forks, spoons, cocktail picks, chopsticks,
splash sticks, and stirrers. “Utensil” does not include plates, bowls, cups, bottles, and other
products used to contain food or beverages.
Section 2. Section 8.24.010 of the Bainbridge Island Municipal Code is hereby amended
to read as follows:
A. No retail food establishment licensed to do business or required to be licensed
within the city shall use expanded polystyrene-based food service ware at any time when
providing prepared food.
B. Retail food establishments licensed to do business or required to be licensed
within the city shall only use home compostable disposable food service ware when providing
prepared food, except as otherwise provided in BIMC 8.24.015.
C. All home compostable disposable food service ware items shall be certified to be
free of all intentionally added fluorinated chemicals.
D. Except as otherwise provided in BIMC 8.24.015, all disposable food service ware
items, including those that that qualify for an exemption pursuant to BIMC 8.24.015, shall be:
1. Certified to be compostable in an industrial composting facility in a timely
manner; and/or
2. Eligible to be accepted for recycling by the retail food establishment’s
recycling collection service.
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E. To verify compliance with subsections C and D.1 of this section, items shall be
certified by the Biodegradable Products Institute (“BPI”), the Compost Manufacturing
Manufacturer’s Alliance (“CMA”), or another independent third party approved by the city
manager or designee, in collaboration with the city’s climate adaptation officer.
F. In order to encourage the use of reusable cups, retail food establishments shall
charge $0.25 for every disposable cup provided.
1. Income from the disposable cup charge shall be retained by the retail food
establishment.
2. Charges for disposable cups shall be identified separately on any post-sale
receipt provided and, pre-sale, shall be clearly identified for the customer on
media such as menus, ordering platforms, and/or menu boards. Customers placing
orders by telephone shall be informed verbally of the single-use cup charge at the
time of the placement of the order.
3. This provision shall not prohibit a retail food establishment from
providing free drinking water upon request to customers in a small, unlined paper
cup.
4. This provision shall not apply to nonprofit entities or entities providing
services on behalf of a nonprofit that operate as a retail food establishment for less
than 10 days per calendar year.
5. Customers may provide their own reusable cups for beverage service in
accordance with the Retail Food Code, Chapter 246-215-03348 of the
Washington Administrative Code. These reusable cups must be clean, sturdy, and
appropriately insulated if ordering hot beverages such that they can be held in the
customer’s bare hand if intended to be used for hot liquids. Retail food
establishments may refuse to use, at their sole discretion, any customer-provided
cup that is cracked, chipped, or corroded, appears inappropriate in size, material,
or condition for the intended beverage, or that appears to be soiled or unsanitary,
and instead require use of a reusable cup provided by the establishment for any
beverage consumed on the premises, or an establishment-provided disposable cup
that conforms to the standards of this chapter.
Section 3. Severability. Should any section, paragraph, sentence, clause, or phrase of
this ordinance, or its application to any person or circumstance, be declared unconstitutional or
otherwise invalid for any reason, or should any portion of this ordinance be preempted by state
or federal law or regulation, such decision or preemption shall not affect the validity of the
remaining portions of this ordinance or its application to other persons or circumstances.
Section 4. This ordinance shall take effect on January 1, 2023. The ordinance will be
published as required by law.
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PASSED by the City Council this 8th day of November, 2022.
APPROVED by the Mayor this 8th day of November, 2022.
Joe Deets, Mayor
ATTEST/AUTHENTICATE:
Christine Brown, MMC, City Clerk
FILED WITH THE CITY CLERK: October 20, 2022
PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL: November 8, 2022
PUBLISHED: November 18, 2022
EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 2023
ORDINANCE NUMBER: 2022-21