Single-use plastics now fully banned in Bellingham. These are the rules
Single-use plastic is now banned in Bellingham after a citywide ordinance took effect at the end of July.
It’s a measure aimed at reducing waste from restaurant take-out meals — such as styrofoam containers and throw-away eating utensils — but it also requires hotels to use dispensers for personal-care products instead of relying on small plastic containers for shampoo or conditioner.
“We’ve always been an environmentally-focused community, and this ordinance is just an extension of that,” said Bellingham City Council member Dan Hammill, who proposed the measure in early 2021.
“To the credit of many restaurants and food trucks, they’re already using compostable products,” Hammill told The Bellingham Herald.
Bellingham’s measure also requires dine-in restaurants to use durable plates, bowls and cutlery, in addition to banning non-recyclable plastic takeout items and making hotels and motels use dispensers for personal hygiene products.
It allows restaurants and food trucks to offer pre-packaged items in plastic, such as condiments.
In addition, it provides exemptions for people with disabilities who must use a plastic straw or cannot reach a wall-mounted dispenser.
Bellingham approved the ordinance in May 2021, but it had an effective date of July 31, 2022, giving the local food service and hospitality industries more than a year to comply by using their inventories and finding new suppliers for takeout containers.
It puts Bellingham ahead of some statewide regulations, legislative analyst Mark Gardner told the City Council in a memo dated May 5, 2021.
“By passing the proposed ordinance now, the City’s ban on single-use plastic food service items, which would take effect July 31, 2022, can include expanded polystyrene products, which otherwise won’t be prohibited at the state level until mid-2024,” Gardner said.
But the Whatcom Business Alliance, a group that advocates for local business and industry, urged to city to pause the implementation of the new ordinance in an online “action alert” on June 28.
“The Whatcom Business Alliance is calling on the city of Bellingham to delay the implementation of this new ordinance at least another six months so it is more in line with the statewide regulations. Small businesses need some relief as they struggle with staffing, higher costs, locating new products that will be required under these new requirements, all while they continue to emerge from the COVID impacts and this new, challenging economy,” the business group said.
Meanwhile, Bellingham’s ordinance promotes education over enforcement, said Jenna Deane, who manages the Towards Zero Waste Program for Sustainable Connections.
Even with a long lead time, supply chain issues and labor shortages did pose a problem for some local businesses, Deane told The Herald.
“Food trucks, if they weren’t already using compostables, they’re having to make a bigger shift. It’s not a quick pivot for business,” Deane said.
“We appreciate their effort. We’re continuing to provide education and support for businesses,” Deane said.
This story was originally published August 2, 2022 at 8:00 AM with the headline "Single-use plastics now fully banned in Bellingham. These are the rules."
