[Adopted 4-2-2017 ATM
by Art. 24]
Polystyrene contains dangerous substances which when heated
release toxic chemicals that may be carcinogenic. Eliminating polystyrene
food and beverage containers is in the best interest of the health
and welfare of the inhabitants of the Town of Wayland. Expanded polystyrene
food containers form a significant portion of the solid waste going
into our landfills. Polystyrene is not biodegradable; once buried
in a landfill it will remain there for centuries.
Single-use disposable products for serving or transporting
prepared, ready-to-consume food or beverages. This includes but is
not limited to plates, cups, bowls, trays and hinged or lidded containers.
This definition includes single-use disposable items such as straws,
cup lids, or utensils.
An operation that stores, prepares, packages, serves, vends,
or otherwise provides food for human consumption. "Food establishment"
shall include any fixed or mobile place, structure or vehicle whether
permanent, transient, or temporary, private, public or non-profit,
routinely serving the public; or any other eating and drinking establishment
or place in which food or drink is prepared for sale or for service
to the public on the premises or elsewhere. School cafeterias are
included in this article.
Includes blown polystyrene and expanded and extruded foams
(sometimes called "Styrofoam," a Dow Chemical Co. trademarked form
of EPS insulation) also referred to as "expanded polystyrene (EPS),"
which are thermoplastic petrochemical materials utilizing a styrene
monomer and processed by any number of techniques including, but not
limited to, fusion of polymer spheres (expandable bead polystyrene),
injection molding, form molding, and extrusion-blow molding (extruded
foam polystyrene); and in this bylaw is referenced as "foam polystyrene."
Foam polystyrene is generally used to make cups, bowls, plates, trays,
clamshell containers, meat trays and egg cartons. The term also means
and includes clear or solid polystyrene which is also known as "oriented,"
and referenced in this bylaw as "rigid polystyrene." Rigid polystyrene
is generally used to make clear clamshell containers, and clear or
colored straws, lids and utensils.
Any food or beverage prepared on the food establishment's
premises for consumption on the premises or elsewhere, using any cooking
or food preparation technique. This does not include any raw uncooked
meat, fish or eggs unless provided for consumption without further
food preparation.
The Board of Health or the Board of Health's designee, which
may be the Health Department.
This bylaw shall be known as the "Polystyrene Food Container
Bylaw."
Except as provided herein, food establishments are prohibited
from dispensing prepared food to customers in disposable food service
containers made from polystyrene.
This bylaw shall take effect six (6) months following approval
of the bylaw by the Attorney General or January 1, 2018, whichever
is later. Upon application of the owner or the owner's representative,
the Board of Health may exempt a food establishment from the requirements
of this section for a period of up to six (6) months upon a finding
by the Board of Health that (1) the requirements of this section would
cause undue hardship; or (2) a food establishment requires additional
time in order to draw down an existing inventory of polystyrene disposable
food service containers.
A.
Enforcement of this bylaw shall be the responsibility of the Board
of Health. The Board of Health shall determine the monitoring process
to be followed, which may be limited to responding to citizen reports,
and/or incorporating inspections into existing food establishment
inspections.
B.
Any food establishment in violation of this bylaw shall be subject
to a noncriminal disposition fine as specified in § 2-2
of the Bylaws, Noncriminal disposition of violations; enforcement.
Any such fines shall be paid to the Town of Wayland.
If any provision of this bylaw is declared invalid or unenforceable
the other provisions shall not be affected thereby.
