California businesses need to know: What’s compostable?

Even though statewide proposals to ban expanded polystyrene foam have fizzled in the Legislature, some area jurisdictions have stepped in. Californians Against Waste lists 128 local ordinances regulating the lightweight plastic material in the state through 2020.

A survey taken prior to the pandemic by Zero Waste Sonoma about a potential polystyrene ban showed 91% of more than 3,000 respondents supported the idea of doing so at food establishments; and 89% at retail stores.

Most of the cities in Sonoma County have either passed a polystyrene ordinance or are expected to in the coming months. An ordinance will be before county supervisors Aug. 24. Sebastopol was the first city to pass the ban, which was in 2019.

Marin County, which is often on the forefront of environmental movements, led the charge in the North Bay when it came to polystyrene bans. Fairfax was the first city to do so in 1993.

Since then the county has passed an ordinance as well as the cities of Mill Valley, Millbrae, Novato, San Anselmo, San Rafael and Sausalito, according to Californians Against Waste.

Joanne Webster, co-chair of the Marin Council of Chambers, which is comprised of the 11 chambers of commerce in Marin County, said there was not much pushback at the time regarding banning polystyrene because most businesses care about their carbon footprint.

Sonoma County moving forward

Zero Waste Sonoma is hosting a webinar Aug. 3 for businesses to get the nitty gritty details about the Sonoma County ordinance and learn what products are allowed.

Sloane Pagal, program manager for Zero Waste Sonoma, said enforcement of the ban is not likely to occur until 2022. The goal first is to educate businesses before warnings and fines would be administered.

In addition to restaurants in Sonoma County, the bans also include no longer allowing the sale of polystyrene products at grocery stores and gas stations, mailing stores can’t use the packing peanuts, and wine shipping containers can’t include the rigid forms that protect or insulate the bottles.

Zero Waste Sonoma is also offering micro-grants (up to $250) to 40 companies to help them switch from polystyrene to something better.

Confusion about what works

Contending with government rules and what trash companies will take are all part of the game restaurants must play. It’s also why Pagal is busy explaining to food providers what will be accepted by the waste company.

“Just because it says it’s compostable doesn’t mean it’s compostable here. That is something we don't have control over,” Pagal told the Business Journal. “The only type of compostable food service ware we can accept in commercial and residential streams is something entirely made out of fiber. It can’t have any lining of any sort. It is a pretty small market available for that.” Liners are what help prevent hot and saucy food from penetrating the box.

While businesses keep getting an education on what to use, customers are also in need of education.

“We tried to work with World Centric to be more descriptive with their packaging because plant plastic looks like regular plastic. “I think it’s hard as a consumer to know what you are supposed to be doing,” Naomi Crawford, owner of the Lunchette restaurant in Petaluma, said.

Screamin Mimi’s in also has trouble with customers knowing what goes where when they are done with a product. Three bins are in front of the Sebastopol ice cream shop—items for the landfill, recycling, or composting. Every night employees have to re-sort the bags so they are correct because customers can’t figure out what goes where.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect the accurate amount of grant money available to qualifying companies from Zero Waste Sonoma, which is $250.