HomeMy WebLinkAbout1856-91 - ADMIN Ordinance - City Council - 1991/06/03ORDINANCE NO.
1856-91
AMENDING SECTIONS 9-311 AND 9-316 OF CHAPTER 3 OF THE ST. LOUIS PARK
ORDINANCE CODE RELATING TO GARBAGE COLLECTION BY ADDING THE FOLLOWING:
THE ST. LOUIS PARK CITY COUNCIL DOES ORDAIN:
Section 1. Under the authority of the St. Louis Park Ordinance Code,
the St. Louis Park Ordinance Code is amended by changing Sections 9-311 and
9-316 to read as follows:
ENVIRONMENTAL PRESERVATION:
ENVIRONMENTALLY ACCEPTABLE PACKAGING
Section 9-310. Legislative Purpose. The City Council finds that
discarded packaging from foods and beverages constitutes a significant and
growing portion of the waste in St. Louis Parks' waste stream. Regulation of
food and beverage packaging, therefore, is a necessary part of any effort to
encourage a recyclable and compostable waste stream, thereby reducing the
disposal of solid waste and the economic and environmental costs of waste
management for the citizens of St. Louis Park and others working or doing
business in St. Louis Park.
The Council further finds that plastic packaging is rapidly replacing
other packaging material, and that most plastic packaging used for foods and
beverages is nondegradable, nonreturnable, and nonrecyclable.
The Council also finds that the two main processes used to dispose of
discarded nondegradable, nonreturnable, and nonrecyclable plastic foods and
beverage packaging are land filling and incineration, both of which should be
minimized for health risks and environmental reasons.
Chemicals hazardous to human health and to the safety of the environment
are present in the composition of plastic packaging, are believed to leach
into the groundwater when this packaging is placed in landfills, have been
found to escape into the air when this packaging is burned in incinerators,
and contribute to health risks and environmental problems associated with ash
residue resulting from the incineration process.
The Council therefore finds that the minimization of nondegradable,
nonreturnable, and nonrecyclable food and beverage packaging originating at
retail food establishments with the City of St. Louis Park is necessary and
desirable in order to reduce the City's waste stream, so as to reduce the
volume of landfilled waste, to minimize toxic by-products of incineration, to
make the waste stream less damaging to the environment, and to make our City
and neighboring communities more environmentally sound places to live.
Section 9-311. Definitions. As used in this new Section, the following
terms and phrases shall have the meanings defined as:
(a) "Packaging" shall mean and include all food -related wrappings,
adhesives, cords, bindings, strings, tapes, ribbons, bags, boxes, coverings
and containers; and shall further include cups, glasses and similar containers
for drinking out of or for holding liquids, and plates and serving trays, but
shall specifically exclude plastic knives, forks and spoons sold or intended
for use as utensils.
(b) "Environmentally acceptable packaging" shall include but not be
limited to the following: ,
(1) DEGRADABLE PACKAGING: Paper or other cellulose -based III
packaging capable of being decomposed by natural biological or biochemical
processes;
(2) RETURNABLE PACKAGING: Food or beverage containers or
packages such as, but not limited to, soft drink bottles and milk containers
that are capable of being returned to the distributor, such as, but not
limited to, dairies and soft drink bottlers, for reuse as the same food or
beverage container use at least once;
(3) RECYCLABLE PACKAGING: Packaging made of materials that are
separable from solid waste by the generator or during collection, for which
there is a City -approved curbside recycling program operating in and making
curbside pickups in the City of St. Louis Park. Packaging made of either
polyethylene terepthalate (P.E.T.) or high density polyethylene (H.D.P.E.)
shall be considered to be recyclable if and when it is collected for recycling
in the same manner as here stated.
(c) "Food establishment" as used in this Section means a "food
establishment" as defined in the St. Louis Park Code of Ordinances.
(d) "Director" shall mean the Director of the Division of Inspectional
Services of the City of St. Louis Park or the Director's designee.
(e) "Retail Food Store Sector" shall mean food establishments and
sections of food establishments where food or food products are offered to the
consumers and intended for off -premise consumption. The term includes, but is
not limited to, grocery stores, bakeries, and meat markets.
(f) "Food Service Sector" shall mean food establishments and sections
of food establishments where food is prepared and intended for individual
portion service. The term includes, but is not limited to, restaurants,
cafeterias, delicatessens, bars, taverns, itinerant food stands, food
concessionaires, boarding establishments, catering sites, and vending
machines.
Section 9-312. Prohibitions. No person owning, operating or conducting
a food establishment within the City of St. Louis Park shall do or allow to be
done any of the following within the City: Sell or convey at retail or
possess with the intent to sell or convey at retail any food or beverage that
is placed, wrapped or packaged, at any time at or before the time or point of
sale, in or on packaging which is not environmentally acceptable packaging.
The presence on the premises of the food establishment of packaging which is
not environmentally acceptable packaging shall constitute a rebuttable
presumption of intent to sell or convey at retail, or to provide to retail
customers packaging which is not environmentally acceptable packaging;
provided, however, that this subparagraph shall not apply to manufacturers,
brokers or warehouse operators, who conduct or transact no retail food or
beverage business.
Section 9-313. Enforcement. The Director shall have the duty and the
authority to enforce provisions of this Section.
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Section 9-314. Rules and Regulations. The Director may, upon notice
and hearing, promulgate such rules and regulations as may be necessary to
carry out the purposes of this Section and protect the health of the public,
including the development of exemptions under Section 9-316 for packaging for
which there is no commercially available alternative and for flexible
packaging. In promulgating such rules the Director shall consider the
legislative purposes provided in Section 9-310 of this Ordinance and shall
consult with the operators of affected food establishments.
Section 9-315. Task Force on Environmentally Acceptable Packaging. The
City Council shall appoint the City Manager or his designee to participate on
a task force established by the Association of Metropolitan Municipalities
(AMM) to study environmentally acceptable packaging and develop an ordinance
to be used as a model for other municipalities. The membership may be drawn
from affected governmental units, business and industry, trade associations,
general business organizations, consumer groups, environmental groups and
others as determined by the AMM. The Task Force will be concerned with the
following:
(a) monitoring industry and governmental actions relating to environ-
mentally acceptable packaging:
(b) advising the Director of Inspectional Services on implementation
issues;
(c) advising the City Council on the feasibility of the effective date
of this Ordinance and recommending whether or not the effective date should be
extended;
(d) assisting in efforts to expand the City's recycling program to
include the collection of potentially recyclable materials not presently
collected, including consideration of financial assistance;
(e) recommending actions other levels of government and industry can
take to advance the goals of this Section.
(f) assisting in the development and implementation of public
education programs on recycling and packaging.
,(g) encouraging -adoption of substantially similar regulations by
surrounding cities, particularly those cities with a border in common with
St. Louis Park.
Section 9-316. Exemptions. Notwithstanding any other provision to the
contrary, this Section shall not apply to:
(a) any flexible packaging of 10 mils or less in thickness unless
disapproved by the Director pursuant to rules promulgated under Section 9-314
above;
(b) any packaging used at hospitals or nursing homes;
(c) any paper, cellophane or other cellulose -based packaging that is
coated with plastic;
(d) any packaging which is not environmentally acceptable, but for
which there is no commercially available alternative as determined by the
Director by rule promulgated pursuant to Section 9-314. In determining
whether there are commercially available alternatives, the Director shall
consider the following: (1) the availability of environmentally acceptable
packaging for affected products; (2) the economic consequences to
manufacturers, suppliers, retailers, and other vendors of requiring
environmentally acceptable packaging when available; and (3) the competitive
effects on manufacturers, suppliers, retailers, and other vendors involved in
the sale of product brands or labels available only in packaging that is not
environmentally acceptable packaging. Every rule creating an exemption under
this paragraph shall be reviewed annually by the Director to determine whether
current conditions continue to warrant the exemption;
(e) paper or other cellulose based packaging capable of being
decomposed by natural biological or biochemical processes;
(f) any plastic bottle that has a "neck";
(g) the Director of Inspectional Services shall issue temporary
administrative exemptions to allow the phasing in of enforcement procedures in
a reasonable and nondiscriminatory manner. The phasing in of enforcement
shall exempt, on the effect date of this ordinance, all products of the kinds
identified in tiers as follows:
RETAIL FOOD STORE SECTOR
Tier I
Tier II
Packaging for food sold in very high volumes with a
consequent proportionately large effect on the solid waste
stream.
Packaging applications where existing technology makes it
technically most practical to convert to an environmentally
acceptable package.
Group A
Packaging by product group where an
"environmentally acceptable" package is in
concurrent use with an "environmentally
unacceptable" package as determined by the
Advisory Committee on Environmentally Acceptable
Packaging.
Group B Packaging by product group where an
"environmentally acceptable" package was used in
the past and is still commercially available.
Group C Packaging by product group where a probable
alternative is a degradable package.
FOOD SERVICE SECTOR
TIER I Packaging used for serving food products consumed on
premises.
TIER II All other food packaging materials used in the Food Service
Sector.
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GROUP A
Any packaging used for products consumed off
premises as part of a catering function that
includes cleanup as well as food service.
GROUP B ,Any packaging used to contain food items that
are used in the production of food products that
are consumed either or on off premises.
Packaging used to serve food for consumption off
premises. Also, any packaging used for products
dispensed from a vending machine (regardless of
where the food is consumed).
Representative product categories and their corresponding tier levels in the
Retail Food Store Sector are described below:
GROUP C
RETAIL FOOD STORE SECTOR - The tier assignments are based on an assessment of
the packaging used by each product class combined with sales pattern data.
TIER I Milk
Carbonated Beverages
Ice Cream/Frozen Desserts
Yogurt
Noncarbonated Water
TIER II
Group A - Pasta Sauces
Mustard
Syrups
Peanut Butter
Honey
Coffee Whiteners
Group B
Group C Cottage Cheese
Eggs
Meat Trays
Processed Meats
Preserves/Toppings
Edible Oils
Bouillon/Spices
Vinegar
BBQ Sauce
Ketchup
Individual Serving Containers
Soft,Margarine
Whipped Toppings
Sour Cream &
Substitutes
Produce Trays
Food products not specifically mentioned in these rules
shall be treated as within Tier II, Group C.
Food packaging that is not environmentally acceptable nor exempt may not be
used on or after July 1, 1991 (Section 9-320), subject to the following
temporary administrative exemptions which shall be in effect during the
phase-in period as defined herein for the product categories. These temporary
exemptions will provide, in effect, a grace period to allow time to implement
changes in packaging materials. The specific length of the phase-in period
for each particular tier level is as follows and is effective July 1, 1991:
TIER I - Tier I product groups in both the Retail Food Store Sector and the
Food Service Sector will not be exempt. Thus the effective date
for the prohibitions will be July 1, 1991.
TIER II - Group A - Tier II, Group A product groups in both the Retail Food
Store and Food Service Sector will be exempt for three (3) months.
The expiration date for exemption in this tier will be September
30, 1991.
Group B - Tier II, Group B product groups in both the Retail Food
Store and Food Service Sector will be exempt for six (6) months.
The expiration date for exemptions in this tier will be December
31, 1991.
Group C - Tier III, Group C product groups in both the Retail Food
Store and Food Service Sector will also be exempt for six (6)
months. The expiration date for receiving exemption in this tier
will be December 31, 1991.
Section 9-317. Penalties. Each violation of any provision of this
Section or of lawful regulations promulgated under Section 9-314 hereof shall
be a petty misdemeanor, for which the maximum fine shall be $50.00. Each day
on which a violation occurs constitutes a separate violation.
Section 9-318. License Adverse Action. A violation of Section 9-312
shall be sufficient grounds for the revocation, suspension, denial or non-
renewal of any license for the food establishment at which the violation
occurs.
Section 9-319. Severability. If any part or provision of this Section
or the application thereof to any person, entity, or circumstances shall be
adjudged unconstitutional or invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction,
such judgment shall be confined in its operation to the part, provision or
application which is directly involved in the controversy in which such
judgment shall have been rendered, and shall not affect or impair the validity
of the remainder of this Section or the application thereof to other persons,
entities, or circumstances.
Section 9-320. Effective Date. This Ordinance shall take effect July
10, 1989, with the exception of Section 9-312, which shall take effect July 1,
1991. The City Council may, however, pursuant to the recommendations of the
AMM Task Force created under Section 9-315 hereof and the Director of
Inspectional Services, delay the effective date of Section 9-312 for a period
not to exceed six (6) months from the effective date of July 1, 1991.
Section 2. The amendments to this ordinance shall take affect 15 days
after publication (First reading May 20, 1991; Second reading June 3, 1991;
publication June 12, 1991; effective date June 27, 1991.)
Adopted by the City Council J ne 3, 1991
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Reviewed for administration:
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City Manager
May
Approved as to form and
execution:
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City Attorney