Now, more than ever, people are seeking out and engaging in important environmental initiatives. By replacing certain single-use plastic products with high-quality, recyclable, and eco-friendly ones, Laguna Beach business owners can lead by example, educating and empowering their customers to make a real difference.
Laguna Beach Municipal Code Chapter 7.05 regulates the types of food service ware that businesses can provide their customers.
Plastic Items Prohibited
All retail businesses that sell, use, or distribute disposable food service ware within City boundaries, are prohibited from selling, using, or distributing certain single-use, plastic, bioplastic, and polystyrene disposable food service ware items, including utensils and utensil sleeves, straws, stirrers, and takeout bags.
Alternative plastic food service ware (utensils, straws, & stirrers) may only be provided to customers upon request.
Plastic food service ware is prohibited at all parks, beaches, and trails.
This Digital Business Toolkit includes:
List of plastic alternative products by vendor
Frequently Asked Questions
Reference guide to disposable food service ware by item, material and status (compliant, permissible, or prohibited)
List of Plastic Alternative Products by Vendor
There are several eco-friendly food service ware alternatives, including:
The City of Laguna Beach does not endorse, is not affiliated with, and does not validate any of the above-listed items as compliant with the Laguna Beach Municipal Code (LBMC). It is the responsibility of each retail business to verify the single-use food service ware items used by the business comply with LBMC.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Frequently Asked Questions
Who must comply with the City's Plastic Pollution Policy?
"Food vendors" - any restaurant or retail food vendor located or operating within the City, including any sidewalk vendor that sells food.
"Beverage provider" - any business, organization, entity, group, or individual located within the City that offers liquid, slurry, frozen, semi-frozen, or other forms of beverages to the public for consumption.
"Restaurant" means any establishment located within the City that sells prepared food for consumption on, near, or off its premises by customers. "Restaurant", for purposes of this chapter, includes itinerant restaurants, pushcarts and vehicular food vendors as those terms are defined in Laguna Beach Municipal Code (LBMC) Chapter 7.04.
The ordinance also applies to City facilities, City-sponsored events, and other local agencies.
What is the City of Laguna Beach's definition of disposable food service ware?
"Disposable food service ware" means single-use, disposable products for serving or transporting prepared food or beverages, including without limitation takeout foods and/or leftovers from partially consumed meals prepared by a restaurant or food vendor. Disposable food service ware includes containers, bowls plates, trays, cartons, ice chests, cups, lids, straws, forks, spoons, knives, and other items and utensils.
What is a "nonrecyclable plastic"?
"Nonrecyclable plastic" refers to any plastic that cannot be feasibly recycled by a municipal recycling program in the state of California, including polystyrene and expanded polystyrene.
See also this short video (linked below) that identifies the different types of plastics and how they are categorized recyclable by resin code.
What items are recyclable?
See the below list of Recycling Resin Codes as a general guideline. The City is exploring the best approach to transition towards a 100% plastic-free community. Currently, infrastructure may not support proper composting and/or recycling of certain recyclable, biodegradable and/or compostable food service ware at the time Ordinance No. 1660 went into effect. Businesses subject to LBMC 7.05 shall distribute, sell, and use disposable food service ware made of: 1) material permitted under LBMC; 2) recyclable, compostable, or biodegradable material as supported by the existing waste management programs servicing the City.
Are there any exceptions to this ban?
Yes. The city manager or designee may exempt a food vendor or retail food vendor from the requirements of this chapter for a one-year period, upon a showing by the applicant that the conditions of this chapter would cause undue hardship. An “undue hardship” may consist of:
Situations unique to the food provider where there are no reasonable alternatives to expanded polystyrene or nonrecyclable plastic food service ware and compliance with this chapter would cause a severe economic hardship to that food provider;
Situations where no reasonably feasible available alternative exists to a specific and necessary expanded polystyrene or nonrecyclable plastic.
A food provider granted an exemption must reapply prior to the end of the one-year exemption period and demonstrate continued undue hardship, if it wishes to have the exemption extended. Extensions may only be granted for intervals not to exceed one year.
An exemption application shall include all information necessary for the making of a decision on the application, including, not limited to documentation showing the factual support for the claimed exemption. The applicant may be required to provide additional information to permit the determination of facts regarding the exemption application.
An exemption application may be approved in whole or in part, with or without conditions.
The city manager or his/her designee may also determine to exempt from the requirements of this chapter the procurement of supplies or services in the event of a proclaimed emergency or when otherwise deemed necessary by the city manager for the immediate preservation of the public health, safety or general welfare.
Why has the City of Laguna Beach banned certain single-use plastic items?
The City has prohibited certain plastic items since 2007. Ordinances that make up today's "plastic pollution policy" consist of the following:
Ordinance No. 1480 (2007) - Prohibits retail food vendors from using or distributing certain expanded polystyrene and non-recyclable plastic food containers.
Ordinance No. 1561 (2012) - Prohibits retail businesses from using certain petroleum and bio-based plastic bags.
Ordinance No. 1660 (2021) - Prohibits all retail businesses that use, sell. or distribute food service ware from using, selling, or distributing certain plastic, bioplastic, and polystyrene food service ware items, including utensils and utensil sleeves, straws and stirrers, and takeout bags.
Ordinance No. 1660 became effective July 15, 2021.
Reference Guide: Items by Type & Material
The City is exploring the best approach to transition towards a 100% plastic-free community. Current infrastructure may not support proper composting and/or recycling of certain recyclable, biodegradable and/or compostable food service ware at the time Ordinance No. 1660 went into effect. Businesses subject to Laguna Beach Municipal Code 7.05, shall distribute, sell, and use disposable food service ware made of: 1) material permitted under the Municipal Code; 2) recyclable, compostable, or biodegradable material as supported by the City’s existing local waste management program.
The following is a list of various food service ware items by type (Disposable Food Service Ware, Single-Use, To-Go Items, and Single Use, Plastic Carry-Out Bags), and status (Recommended, Permissible, and Prohibited) in accordance with the City's plastic pollution policy.
See also the below chart of Recycling Resin Codes. Contact your local waste management service provider to verify what recycling programs are available.
