The Del Mar City Council is scheduled to vote Jan. 6 on a second reading of an ordinance that further bans single-use plastics and noncompostable food service items within the city.
Council members approved the first reading unanimously on Dec. 15.
Pending the vote on the second reading, which is listed on the council agenda’s consent calendar, the ordinance will take effect on Feb. 6. Businesses will have a six-month grace period to comply, according to the city.
The city already has regulations including restrictions on single-use plastic bags for carryout, plastic straws and stirrers, and balloons filled with helium or other lighter-than-air gasses. Under the new ordinance, there will be further restrictions on polystyrene and noncompostable single-use utensils, the sale of expanded polystyrene coolers, ice chests or other containers, and drinks in single-use plastic bottles at city functions or on city property.
Council members also discussed potential future regulations on single-use plastics to help reduce pollution that ends up on local beaches and in the ocean, where it adversely affects marine life.
“The bans are part of a larger effort to move Del Mar toward becoming a zero-waste city and comply with state goals to divert trash from landfills,” the city announced in a news release.