[10News recycles AyPee] Don't patronize/visit/spend any money at all in Bezerkeley Patrons of restaurants and coffee shops in Berkeley, California, who don't bring a reusable cup for their beverage will have to pay a 25-cent fee for a disposable cup as part of an ordinance approved by city officials to eliminate restaurant waste.
Berkeley's City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve the fee on single-use cups, which will take effect January 2020
"The goal is to transition Berkeley from throwaway to reusable food ware, to incentivize people to bring their own cup," said Councilwoman Sophie Hahn, who proposed the ordinance with Mayor Jesse Arreguin.
Restaurants would keep all proceeds, and it would be up to them to decide what to do with the extra money, Hahn said. She said it could be invested on more environmentally friendly food ware.
The ordinance also requires restaurants to provide takeout containers that are compostable by mid-2020 and to provide only reusable plates and utensils for those eating in. It also says other disposable items, like lids and stirrers, can only be offered when requested.
The single-use cup fee is the latest effort in the socially forward city to reduce waste. Bans on plastic bags received support in the city of 100,000 long before California imposed its own ban in 2014.