(a) Except as provided by section 5.30.030, Food Service Establishments are prohibited from providing prepared food in Disposable Food Service Containers made from Plastic Foam or other non-recyclable plastic.
(b) Except as provided by Section 5.30.030, Retail Service Establishments are prohibited from selling, leasing or otherwise providing Plastic Foam Products.
(c) "Condiment" means relishes, spices, sauces, confections, or seasonings that require no additional preparation and that are usually used on a food item after preparation, including ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, soy sauce, hot sauce, salsa, salt, pepper, sugar, and sugar substitutes.
(d) "Disposable" means items designed to be used once or a limited number of times and then discarded, whether the item is non-recyclable, Recyclable or Compostable.
(e) "Food Service Container" means a product used by Food Service Establishments for serving or transporting prepared and ready-to-consume food or beverages. This includes but is not limited to plates, cups, bowls, lids, trays and hinged or lidded containers.
(f) "Food Service Establishment" means any establishment, located or providing food within the City of Palo Alto, which provides prepared and ready to consume food or beverages, for public consumption including but not limited to any Retail Service Establishment, eating and drinking service (as defined in Title 18), takeout service (as defined in Title 18), supermarket, delicatessen, restaurant, food vendor, sales outlet, shop, cafeteria, catering truck or vehicle, cart or other sidewalk or outdoor vendor or caterer which provides prepared and ready-to-consume food or beverages, for public consumption, whether open to the general public or limited to certain members of the public (i.e., company cafeteria for employees). For the purpose of this ordinance "Food Service Establishment" shall include all entities found in "Food Facility" as listed in CA HSC Ch. 2 Section 113789(a).
(g) "Foodware Item" means any item used or provided by Food Service Establishments to serve or consume food or beverages. Foodware Items include Food Service Containers, condiment cups and packets, straws, utensils (forks, spoons, sporks, knives, chopsticks), drink stirrers, beverage spill plugs, napkins, and other drink or food accouterments.
(h) "Plastic Foam" means blown expanded and extruded plastic foams made from polystyrene or other resins which are processed by any number of techniques including, but not limited to, fusion of monomer spheres (expanded bead plastic), injection molding, foam molding and extrusion-blown molding (extruded foam plastic). Expanded polystyrene and other plastic foam resins are generally used to make disposable cups, bowls, plates, trays, egg cartons, clamshell containers, ice chests, shipping boxes and packing materials.
(i) "Plastic Foam Products" means Disposable Plastic Foam ice chests, cups, bowls, plates, clamshells, shipping boxes containers, egg cartons, packaging peanuts, packing blocks or other packaging materials that are not wholly encapsulated or encased by a more durable material. Additional Plastic Foam Products may be added by administrative regulation promulgated by the Director of Public Works.
(j) "Prepared Food" means any food or beverage prepared for consumption using any cooking, packaging, or food preparation technique, including but not limited to cooking, chopping, slicing, mixing, freezing, squeezing, or brewing, and which requires no further preparation to be consumed. Prepared food includes uncooked fruits or vegetables, "take-out" food, or food prepared to be consumed off the Food Service Establishment premises. Prepared Food does not include any uncooked meat, fish or poultry.
(k) "Recyclable" means items deemed acceptable within the city’s recycling collection program as determined by the Director of Public Works and identified on the city’s website.
(l) "Retail Service Establishment" shall have the same meaning as Retail Service as defined in Title 18 of this Code.
(m) "Reusable Foodware" means a Foodware Item made of durable materials and designed to be used repeatedly with a useful life greater than one year.
(n) "Third-party food delivery platform" means a business engaged in the service of online food ordering and delivery from a food service establishment to a consumer.
(Ord. 5547 § 2, 2022: Ord. 5473 § 2 (part), 2019: Ord. 5371 § 2 (part), 2016: Ord. 5039 § 2 (part), 2009)