For the purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases used in this chapter are defined as follows unless it is apparent from the context that a different meaning is intended:
(a) "Beverage straw" means any straw or tube that is used for transferring a beverage from its container to the mouth of the drinker.
(b) "Biodegradable" means the ability of organic matter to break down from a complex to a simpler form through the action of bacteria. Biodegradable materials may vary greatly in the amount of time taken to break down and do not necessarily produce soil nutrients.
(c) "Bio-plastic" means plastic materials produced from renewable biomass sources, such as vegetable fats and oils, corn starch, straw, woodchips, sawdust, recycled food waste, etc. Bio-plastic can be made from agricultural by-products and from used plastic bottles and other containers using microorganisms. Not all bio-plastics are biodegradable.
(d) "City" means the City of Thousand Oaks.
(e) "City Facility" means any building, structure, property, park, or open space, owned, leased or operated by the City, its agents, agencies, departments or franchisees.
(f) "City Contractor" means any person that enters into an agreement with the City to furnish products or services to or for the City including all franchisees, contractors, and vendors doing business with the City.
(g) "City-sponsored event" means any event, activity or meeting organized, sponsored, permitted, in whole or in part, by the City or any department of the City. This includes events at rented or borrowed City Facilities, City-managed concessions, and City co-sponsored events.
(h) "Compostable" means all the materials in the product or package will break down, or otherwise become part of usable compost (e.g. soil-conditioning material, mulch). To be considered "Compostable", disposable food containers must meet ASTM Standards for compostable materials and must be certified by the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) as such.
(i) "Customer" means any person obtaining prepared food from a restaurant or food provider.
(j) "Disposable food ware" or "disposables" means single-use, disposable products used for serving, transporting, or consuming prepared food, including but not limited to plates, bowls, trays, wrappers or wrapping, platters, cartons, hinged food containers, condiment containers, utensils, cups or drink ware, or any other container in or on which prepared foods are placed or packaged for consumption.
(k) "Distribute" means to provide or offer to provide an item, either as a separate transaction or as part of a transaction for another item, regardless of whether compensation is received.
(l) "Encapsulated expanded polystyrene Product" means expanded polystyrene products that have been completely encased by a more durable material that protects the EPS material from disintegration and makes the product suitable for reuse multiple times.
(m) "Event" means an organized recreational or cultural activity promoted or sponsored by a business or non-profit group.
(n) "Expanded polystyrene" or "EPS" means polystyrene that has been expanded or blown using a gaseous blowing agent into a solid foam. EPS is sometimes called "Styrofoam", a Dow Chemical Co. trademark form of polystyrene foam insulation.
(o) "Expanded polystyrene product" means any item such as a cooler, ice chest, cup, bowl, plate, hinged food container (clamshell), shipping box, or any other merchandise made from expanded polystyrene.
(p) "Food provider" means any person or establishment that provides or sells prepared food within the City to the public to be consumed on the premises or for take-away consumption. Food provider includes but is not limited to (1) a grocery store, supermarket, delicatessen, restaurant, drive-thru, cafe, cafeteria, coffee shop, snack shop, public food market, farmers' market, convenience store, or similar fixed place where prepared food is available for sale on the premises or for take-away consumption; and (2) any mobile store, food vendor, caterer, food truck, vending machine or similar mobile outlet. Food provider also includes any business, organization, group or individual that regularly provides prepared food to its members or the public as a part of its activities or services.
(q) "Food tray" means a tray commonly used for packaging food for retail sale.
(r) "Person" means any person, business, corporation, or event organizer or promoter; public, nonprofit or private entity, agency or institution; or partnership, association or other organization or group, however organized.
(s) "Plastic straw" or "plastic beverage straw" means a beverage straw made of plastic derived from fossil fuel or biologically based polymer (Bio-plastic).
(t) "Plastic utensil" means fork, spoon, knife, chopstick or stirrer, or other eating implement made predominately of plastic derived from fossil-fuel or a biologically based polymer.
(u) "Polystyrene" means a thermoplastic petrochemical material utilizing the styrene monomer, including but not limited to polystyrene foam or expanded polystyrene, processed by any number of techniques, including but not limited to fusion of polymer spheres (expandable bead polystyrene), injection molding, foam molding, or extrusion- blow molding (extruded foam polystyrene), and clear or solid polystyrene (oriented polystyrene). The Recycle Code for polystyrene is '6' or 'PS,' either alone or in combination with other letters. This definition applies to all polystyrene food ware, regardless of whether it exhibits a Recycle Code.
(v) "Prepared food" means any food or beverage that is (1) ready to consume without any further preparation, alteration or repackaging; and (2) prepared, provided, sold or served by a food provider using any cooking, packaging or food preparation technique. Prepared food may be eaten either on or off the food provider's premises. For purposes of this ordinance, prepared food does not include (1) any raw uncooked meat, poultry, fish unless provided for consumption without further food preparation, and (2) fresh produce provided for consumption without food preparation or repackaging, including fruits, vegetables, and herbs, sold by grocery stores, supermarkets, food markets, farmers' markets and other food vendors.
(w) "Recyclable" means any material that is specified in the exclusive franchise agreement with the City's solid waste service provider where such list exists, or, in the absence of such includes, but is not limited to, aluminum, tin and bi-metal cans, clear and colored glass containers, corrugated cardboard, mixed paper and plastics with Recycling Codes 1-7 with the exception of #6 or PS.
(x) "Restaurant" means any person or establishment doing business within the City of Thousand Oaks that provides prepared food or beverages for consumption on or off its premises such as a, dining establishment, cafe, bakery, grocery or convenience store counter or delicatessen, or catering truck vehicle. "Restaurant" for the purposes of this chapter, includes mobile food preparation units and employee cafeterias operated at businesses located within the City.
(y) "Recycling Code" is used to identify the material from which an item is made to facilitate processing. Generally, codes are indicated as a number from 1-7 within a recycling mobius or chasing arrows logo. Codes can also be in the form of an abbreviation. PS and No. 6 are both used to indicate a polystyrene product. Number 7 indicates a product that does not fit within the other six classifications and is designated as "Other". Compostable plastics are designated as No. 7 plastics. The presence of a Recycling Code is not an indicator that the item is recyclable.
(z) "Reusable food ware" means all food ware, including plates, bowls, cups, trays, glasses, hinged food containers (clamshells), straws, stirrers, condiment cups and utensils, that is manufactured of durable materials and is specifically designed and manufactured to be washed and sanitized and to be used repeatedly over an extended period of time, and is safe for washing and sanitizing according to applicable Health Department regulations.
(aa) "Undue hardship" means that alternative food ware products that meets the same functional requirements are not available or result in a significant cost increase to operations.
(bb) "Vendor" means any store or business, located or operating within the City of Thousand Oaks, that sells or offers goods or merchandise including those referenced in "food provider."
(§ 3, Ord. 1680-NS, eff. January 1, 2022)