Plastic Free Goleta Guide

Plastic Free Goleta Guide (Spanish)

Click below to view a recording of the City's Plastic Free Goleta Lunch & Learn from August 3, 2023.

•  Are compostable products allowed? YES - if products are made from natural fibers (like wood and paper).

• What about bio plastic? NO – our local waste processing facility cannot break bioplastic down, so it is considered another plastic.

• Are plastic lids allowed? YES – at this time, there is no viable non plastic alternative, so regulation does not apply to lids.

• Can I still buy latex balloons? YES – there are other more sustainable ways to celebrate, but you purchase latex balloons, you must be sure to properly dispose of them. 

• For a full breakdown of the ordinance, check out the recording of the Plastic Free Goleta Lunch & Learn webinar. 

Allowed:

• Paper/cardboard egg cartons
• Biodegradable packing materials
• Biodegradable produce and meat trays
• Fully encapsulated coolers
• • Biodegradable disposable foodware

Not allowed:

• Polystyrene or Styrofoam®️ egg cartons
• Polystyrene or Styrofoam®️ packing materials
• Polystyrene or Styrofoam®️ produce and meat trays
• Polystyrene or Styrofoam®️ coolers
• Polystyrene or Styrofoam®️ disposable foodware

• Prohibiting the release of balloons anywhere in the city (Mylar or latex)

• Restricting the use of Mylar and foil balloons in outdoors spaces like beaches and parks

• Prohibiting the sale and distribution of Mylar and foil balloons in the City

Why regulate balloons?

Mylar balloons, also known as foil or metalized balloons, contribute to hundreds of power outages a year in Southern California. In the 1990s, the state of California banned the mass release of Mylar balloons. Not only do these types of balloons pose a potential threat to power distribution, they also threaten marine environments. Mylar balloons can take hundreds of years to decompose. During this time they sit in landfills or end up in our trees, beaches, and the ocean where they pose a threat to marine animals- either through entanglement or ingestion.

Latex balloons are made from rubber, and while they take less time to break down, they still pose a serious risk to the marine environment. Slightly broken down, these balloons look similar to jellyfish. Latex balloons can take anywhere from 6 months to 4 years to break down. During this time, marine animals often mistake the balloon for a food source. Balloons are one of the deadliest forms of marine debris to seabirds.

What can you do?

The City encourages the community to celebrate without balloons, and choose reusable and/or eco-friendly alternatives, which are less likely to end up in the trash. If you do choose to celebrate or end up with balloons, remember to not let go!  Free-flying balloons can travel as far as 1,300 miles and Mylar balloons can cause power outages. When done with a balloon, please make sure to pop it and dispose of it properly (cut the string/ribbon off, cut it up and put it into a trash container).

The City expanded upon AB 1276 regulations to prohibit food or beverage providers from distributing plastic beverage straws, plastic stirrers or plastic utensils, whether for use on-site, to-go, or delivery. Disposable straws, stirrers, and utensils must be non-plastic, made from non-plastic materials, such as paper, pasta, sugar cane, or wood. This regulation also includes the prohibition of bioplastics (PLA #7) for straws, stirrers and utensils, which are not able to be processed in the County’s anaerobic digester. The City is currently developing a guide for businesses to assist with compliance, which will be sent to every impacted business prior to June 1, 2023 and be made available online for reference. 

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, food and beverage providers may retain and dispense plastic straws as an accommodation to people with disabilities who request them to enjoy equal access to food and beverage services within the City of Goleta.

How do I, as a resident, help comply with this ordinance?

Firstly, the City would like to thank residents who have already committed to going strawless and eating without plastic utensils. Drinking without a straw is the best option, but we understand if residents feel like they need a straw when eating out. If residents are worried about not having single-use straws or plastic utensils when they sit down for a meal or get take-out, reusable straws and utensils are the way to go. Reusable straws made from bamboo, stainless steel, or glass are the best options, although there are reusable plastic straws as well. There are also stainless steel and reusable plastic utensils available for on-the-go use. To help businesses comply, we recommend residents be proactive by saying, "No straw, please" or "No plastic utensils, please" when ordering food and drinks, especially for take-out or delivery. The City appreciates the community for helping keep Goleta plastic-free. 

Why is plastic a problem?

• Half of all sea turtles and nearly all seabirds have eaten plastic (Source, Source)

• Straws and utensils are in the top ten most commonly found pieces of trash during beach cleanups (Source)

• The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is double the size of Texas (Source)

• By 2050, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish (by weight) (Source)

• Utensils are one of the most harmful pieces of plastic pollution to marine life (Source)

• Single use plastic is harmful to marine life, and it is our responsibility to keep the ocean as plastic-free as possible 

• Respecting our beaches and keeping our city clean is our civic duty 

• Protecting and preserving the environment is a part of Goleta’s core values 

Collectively, Americans use roughly 500 million plastic straws daily – enough to fill up 125 school buses each day and wrap around our entire planet 2.5 times. Because they are not recyclable, they mostly end up in landfills. Straws and utensils are some of the most harmful pieces of plastic pollution to marine life, according to the Ocean Conservancy. Sea animals, especially turtles, mistake them for food, and it can get stuck in their digestive tract. Turtles sometimes try to regurgitate the plastic, and it can get stuck in their nasal cavities. Two videos of researchers pulling out a straw and a plastic utensil from a sea turtle’s nose went viral, and kicked off the movement to ban single-use plastics. Straws and plastic utensils, even when they are properly disposed of in a trash bin, can end up in our oceans and pollute our beaches. They are one of the most common pieces of trash found during beach cleanups.

The concept of ‘Reduce and Reuse’ is at the core of the waste management hierarchy, and the most critical component to reducing waste. Addressing single-use items and disposables by encouraging reusables for dining on premises will help reduce Goleta’s overall waste and encourage responsible environmental practices in the community.

This component of Goleta’s ordinance states that food and beverages that are served for consumption on vendor premises shall only be served using reusable foodware. There are exceptions for disposable paper food wrappers, sleeves and bags; foil wrappers; paper napkins; straws and paper trays; and plate-liners for dining on the premises, so long as they meet the Disposable Foodware Standards outlined in the ordinance. 

Exemptions and exemptions for this policy are available for businesses that do not have on-site or off-site dishwashing capacity or are unable to contract for services to wash, rinse and sanitize Reusable Foodware in compliance with the California State Health Code. Extensions and exemptions may be granted if the vendor demonstrates an inability to comply due to insurmountable space constraints, undue hardship and/or other extraordinary, insurmountable circumstances. 

Why Reusables?

This flyer has a short summary of some smaller reasons. To look at the big-picture, plastic pollution is growing exponentially, and the U.S. is the largest polluter. It is estimated that the ocean currently contains 150 million metric tons of plastic. A third of all plastic packaging produced ends up in the environment – approximately 31 million tons annually. Out of that total, 11 million tons enter the oceans each year. That’s the equivalent of 34 pounds of plastic for every foot of coastline in the world. 

With the planet in mind, operators try to procure the best foodware options, but that usually involves buying “better” recyclable or compostable single-use alternatives. Single-use foodware of any kind consumes valuable resources and generates global pollution upstream – where the materials were extracted – to manufacturing, transit, and then finally downstream – where too much waste goes to landfill and waterways, or litter is disposed of on the street. Additionally, compostable or recyclable single use foodware items are unable to be processed in Santa Barbara County, and are almost always diverted to the landfill. Reusable foodware is a solution that prevents more items from entering the waste stream, and beats fiber and plastic single-use alternatives in every environmental measure. For example: 

• Replacing disposable cups with reusables can save 16 pounds of solid waste and 281 gallons of water per day

• Transitioning to reusables could reduce trash on our city streets by 67% 

• In just 15 washes, reusable containers beat out disposables for environmental impacts.

Benefits to Businesses

The data from hundreds of case studies shows that making the switch from single-use to reuse for on-site dining ends up saving money, even when businesses take into account the set-up and ongoing costs. Using sanitized reusable foodware for orders instead of disposables can save a restaurant on average $3,000 – $22,000 annually, while increasing operational efficiency. We also know that reusables become cheaper than disposable items after a handful of uses

• 12 oz glass cup: cheaper than disposables after just 4 uses

• 12 oz ceramic mug: cheaper than disposables after just 12 uses

• 9 in ceramic plate: cheaper than disposables after just 18 uses

• Utensil set: cheaper than disposables after just 16 uses

“Single-use foodware accessory” means all of the following single-use items provided alongside ready-to-eat food:

• Utensils, which is defined as forks, knives, spoons, and sporks

• Chopsticks

• Condiment cups and packets

• Straws

• Stirrers

• Splash sticks

• Cocktail sticks

Food facilities simply need to reevaluate how they provide these disposables to customers. Instead of automatically including them with the customer’s order, they will now only provide single-use items upon request by the customer. Creating or expanding existing self-service stations to include the entire range of separate foodware utensils and condiments could help with this transition.

 A food facility that offers standard condiments is encouraged to use bulk dispensers for the condiments rather than condiments packaged for single use. A food facility that uses a third-party platform shall customize their menu with a list of available single-use accessories and condiments. Only those items chosen by the consumer will be delivered. If no single-use accessories or condiments are requested, none will be provided.