Disposable Food Service Ware Ordinance

Amendment adopted May 24, 2022

On May 24, 2022, City of Millbrae adopted the Disposable Food Service Ware Ordinance (Ordinance) that mirrors the County of San Mateo's (County) food ware ordinance. This Ordinance aims to regulate and reduce the amount of disposable plastic food ware and other food ware waste that are used and distributed in Millbrae. The Ordinance's implementation and enforcement start date is October 1st, 2022. Education and enforcement of the Ordinance are being headed by the County of San Mateo's Office of Sustainability, in partnership with the City.

Learn more about the Disposable Food Service Ware Ordinance Amendment (PDF)

The objectives of the Ordinance are to:

Help keep our waterways clean and safe.
Improve the health and safety of community members; and
Reduce waste by eliminating disposable food ware that is not reusable or compostable;

Who This Impacts

This Ordinance applies to restaurants, mobile food trucks, temporary food facilities (e.g., street fairs, festivals, etc.), farmers' markets, catering operations, private schools, and other operations that operate within the City and provide prepared food (a.k.a. ready-to-eat food and beverages) to the general public.

Key elements of the Ordinance include requiring:

Most disposable foodware to be non-plastic, fiber-based (e.g., paper, bamboo, sugarcane, etc.), and compostable;
Larger disposable foodware items such as bowls, plates, and clamshells need to be free of harmful perfluoroalkyl and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Please note: Starting on January 1, 2023, the State expanded this requirement to ALL disposable foodware made of fiber, including accessories (e.g., straws, utensils, napkins, stirrers, etc.), paper bags, and food contact paper; and
The distribution of disposable foodware accessories (e.g., straws, utensils, napkins, stirrers, spill plugs, etc.) is only allowed when requested by the consumer and/or with dispensers that distribute one item at a time. Open containers/bins holding disposable accessories for consumers to grab-and-go are no longer allowed. Disposable accessories cannot be bundled together, and they must be distributed individually as separate items (e.g., each fork, spoon, straw, condiment, etc.).

Resources Available to Impacted Food Facilities

County of San Mateo's Model Foodware Ordinance Summary (English (PDF) / Spanish (PDF) / Chinese (PDF) / Tagalog (PDF))
Ordinance Requirements Table (English (PDF) / Spanish (PDF) / Chinese (PDF) / Tagalog (PDF))
Implementation Checklist (English (PDF) / Spanish (PDF) / Chinese (PDF) / Tagalog (PDF))
Purchasing Guide listing acceptable disposable and reusable foodware

FAQs, outreach materials (e.g., tent cards, employee training guide, etc.), and other resources for food facilities are available at the County of San Mateo's Foodware Aware Program website.

Free technical assistance is available for food facilities to help meet the requirements of the Ordinance as well as go beyond the requirements and switch to reusable foodware. Up to $300 is available for food facilities that are interested in switching from disposable to reusable foodware!

Please contact the Foodware Aware Team for additional information:

Email Foodware Aware Team
Hotline: 888-442-2666

Adopted February 23, 2021

The City of Millbrae adopted the Disposable Food Service Ware Ordinance Number 785 on February 23, 2021, which replaces the City's current Sustainable Food Service Ware Ordinance Number 717 adopted in 2008. The Ordinance requires the use of compostable food ware and reduces the wasteful distribution of accessories such as straws, stirrers, cup spill plugs, condiment packets, utensils, napkins, etc.

The City adopted this Ordinance in order to:

Eliminate disposable food service ware that is not reusable or compostable
Improve the health and safety of community members by eliminating disposable food service ware that is harmful
Help meet our regional stormwater permit requirement by reducing street litter

The Disposable Food Service Ware Ordinance impacts food facilities (restaurants, etc.) that operate in the City that provide prepared food for public consumption. The Ordinance will become operative and enforced on March 25, 2022.

Learn more about the Ordinance by reviewing the summary:

Letters sent to affected businesses:

Contact Andrea Pappajohn with any questions or comments.

Disposable Food Service Ware Ordinance