legislation. but certainly, an and limitation period we are here to listen, learn, and move forward. generally, the businesses we sit down and talk to them listen to their concerns it is a much smoother conversation. those conversations are ongoing. i do not want to suggest we are done here today. i know that there are businesses who have been receiving misinformation about this ordinance. that is not a good place to start. i would much rather start with a sitdown conversation. we looked at the business model and see how we might incorporate some of your concerns into the conversation. uh without saying too much more specifically about that uh other approach which uh unfortunately has put misinformation in the air and created some fear where i don't think it should exist. uh i think that is a less uh open approach than what we are looking for uh. everyone who is either a small business owner uh i am happy to sit down to you and talk to you about how this ordinance is intended to go into effect and

how we might uh ease of limitation for everybody. thank you. >> thank you very much. commissioners questions? >> i have one quick question. what about when you go to a coffee shop and you get a cup and it's already a biodegradable cup. are you still want to be charged for biodegradable replacement cup? a lot of that stuff we are have ordinances in place. this is my concern. you know, styrofoam is banned in this town. the stuff you are getting already is biodegradable. i'm trying to figure out what i am missing here. >> right. i think some of this, and i think anybody in the coalition of advocates who are supporting the transition to reusable's, even from compostable's right now, will admit, you know, i think it was a little bit shortsighted to think because it

is compostable means it is being composted. in fact, a lot of this waste, same with recyclables, is not -. we want to diverted from landfill. unfortunately, even if single use items are technically compostable or recyclable, a lot of them are ending up in the landfill still. this is the option to really switch to a truly reusable model and make sure we are not sending anything to the landfill. particularly if you're already dining on site before busing service, that should not be happening. >> commissioner laguana? >> thank you, and thank you for the leadership on this issue. i can't speak for the other commissioners, but speaking for myself -- yeah, move closer? uh there is a lot here to digest we are certainly, i'm sure, all they're interested in.

there is a lot of things to consider like inputs and outputs on this. uh one question that came up for me looking through this, there are several uh references to a waiver process. can you walk me through without waiver process what you intended to look like? >> right, so, the idea is that you would be able to petition the director of the department of the environment for a waiver of for instance the on-site dining reusable food where requirement. this is something that, if you're a business that operationally uses thousands of non- reusable containers every day, i don't know their exact numbers. you're going to be challenged to set up a dishwashing facility and actually provide that busing service if people are not self busing. you know, you are facing challenges with the of limitation. you might be able to apply to the director of the department for a full or partial waiver of

that requirement. the partial waiver might, you know, that could be the percentage of reusable's, or not. or, the time that, you know, you're allowed to bring operation in compliance. i think one of the key ways we want to amend this ordinance as -- is make that waiver more clear. who it is designed to apply to, how do we recognize the difference between existing businesses that do not have have reusable capacity and perspective businesses that might be able to actually implement that buildout is part of their opening process. how do we confine, or give contour, to what that waiver looks like? as we just did with the easy charging station ordinance. we allow the department, the director of the department of environment to have that would then be transmitted to the board of supervisors for review. the board of supervisors could give that a thumbs up or thumbs

down by ordinance which provide an additional level of transparency before the end limitation date. you know, we have that clarity up and ready to go before businesses are bumping up against a compliance deadline. >> i guess my question is more about the actual waiver process itself. are they just going online and filling out a form? is our paper? is there inspections? is there an appeal? walk me through the actual -- >> sure. honestly, the department of the environment might have a better sense of how that applies. i think it is different for different requirements. first entry way, you can appeal that determination. there are certain exemptions laid out in the ordinance. if you are denied, you can appeal that to the access appeals board. this presumably would be something similar. you can fill out a form online, i think what we want to see, as a policymaker imperative is some

demonstrated burden that you have costed it out. whatever reason this cost is, you know, it is too much for you, it is not accessible for you. i do think it would be something like a form that you would fill out, and adaptation that you try to make this work and you can't for whatever reason. we could be a little more explicit about those exemptions, or those certain considerations. then it would be up to the director of the department of the environment to give a thumbs-up or thumbs down. whether that is appealable to the board of appeals is a matter of charter authority. i'm not 100% certain. >> thank you. >> commissioner yee riley? >> thank you for the presentation. i do have a question with a b-619. it requires the restaurant to isolate the customers container from the serving surface. how does that work? >> so, a b-619, as i understand

add foz will not part was to give guidance to restaurants on how they can accept containers that folks are bringing in on their own. previously that has not been allowed under state law. this is an evolving piece of state law that says actually, we see the environmental imperative, we are going to allow people to bring their own containers in. these are the rules that you will to follow. ab 619, as i understand it, and somebody will stand up and yell and scream if i am wrong, a relaxation of public health and safety laws to allow people to bring their own containers and give guidance to food vendors with their obligation is relative to bring you back into a food prep area, or how they are obligated to serve in that container. our san francisco department of public health has promulgated guidance along these lines relative to beverage cups. if you bring your own beverage cup, to a coffee store, to have your cup filled up to ask you to remove the lid first. they will not touch that is a cross-contamination concern.

part of regulation and guidance that the department of public health has provided. i've been in some communication with the department of public health about promulgating additional guidelines for people to bring in their own containers that should be forthcoming in the wake of ab 649. >> i remember growing up we used to bring our own container, and then we were older food to deliver, they would deliver in reusable dishes and then they would come back and pick it up. times are different now. you cannot do that anymore. i try to wash some of the containers i have gotten from to go food, you are not allowed to take it back. i don't know. we probably need more detailed instruction and guidelines for the business owners. what you do. the container provided by the consumer is clean enough for you to touch it if you live and go

touch something else. i think we need more guidance on that. >> i would agree with you. the reason we put the uh implementation date of the container piece a few years out is to allow for some of that to take place. you're right, it is often cultural norms. it is a generational thing. there was a time before where we weren't throwing away single use everything. i understand india is a country that has a fairly robust reusable container system. those containers are largely, you know, standardized across businesses. it might not be the norm here today, but this points to a point where it is the norm. the norm as something other than drowning our bay and micro plastics. that is the imperative that we

are trying to pursue here. >> okay. >> commissioner zouzounis? >> thank you for the presentation. a couple of clarifying questions and comments. for on-site facilities that require self busing stations. can you define it that would look like if it is a different type of self busing station? does it require a sink? >> so, one of the businesses that was a pioneer in the recent disposable conversation, was right near my house, i go there all the time. they have all reusable food-service aware and accessories there. they don't even have the like a little ceramic cup for salsa. it is otherwise counter service pretty go order, you sit down, and your stuff is served. they have three container busing station already there. it's at the front of house. they are technically self

busing. to have that busing station. interestingly, one of the concerns that we have is that people are actually kind of quick to throw away they reusable's when the self busing station is front of house. that absentmindedly throwing away technically reusable forks area one of the changes we anticipate making for the ordinance is saying hey, if you are doing reusable's maybe you don't need to have that self busing station at the front of house. maybe you can have that behind, back of house, so people aren't inclined to absentmindedly throw away a reasonable's. i'm not sure if that gets your answer. it is an operationally different thing for each type of food vendor and self busing stations you know, it's a little bit peculiar. >> am thinking about in both context if someone brings their own tupperware, and they use it. they are expected to take you back home.

we are not requiring a business to allow them to clean up before they go home or anything like that? >> i'm not aware of a requirement on the food vendor to allow people to clean their own dishes. i don't think that that exists. tran21 comment before we talk more, after hearing from the public. i do agree with our president. i do see this as a punitive measure for businesses that have spent five times, you know, increased costs moving from a non- compostable for example to compostable. we are complying with the law, and the next year there is another law. i am really not inclined to vote on this until we have a fee mitigation in. we have litter fees that small businesses pay. we have pof fees that small businesses pay and would require

an additional line item on the receipt, which i think is fee related. that is generally where i stand. >> echoing commissioner's is in his remarks -- echoing commissioner's remarks, most small business owners are very time-limited. that is one of the reasons why i was asking about the waiver process both in terms of, you know, i think we all support the end goal. it often seems like the burden is put on restaurant owners to get to the end goal. i tend to agree with commissioner zouzounis, i think there needs to be, if you want

to get to the end goal you can't be entirely on the backs of the small businesses. it is whiplash constantly. some thought, i think, should be given to that. >> absolutely. i encourage you to take a look at the case studies to the businesses that have already converted to this. we don't want to be in a punitive mode with small businesses. if anything the subjecting businesses to audits for waste sorting, large ways producers are that is, i would agree a harder stick enforcement measure to ensure compliance with sorting. the reason i came into play in the first place is because we know that compostable's are ending up in a landfill anyway. recyclables are ending up in our landfill anyway. i agree with you, we had this conversation and i put it on the record as well, we should be very clear to the stakeholder community, what costs are associated with bringing

yourself into compliance with this ordinance. at the same time we should be very transparent about the cost saving to businesses as well. we can do both of those things before this hits its implementation date. it is incumbent on the city to do so. we will be in the process looking for ways to mitigate fees as well. it is something we talk about all the time in the city. calling at low hanging fruit rather than being partners with small businesses and food vendors. just a few weeks ago, that is something that was a recurring theme. we will be continuing to look at those opportunities in the context of this ordinance and the course of an limitation to make sure that, you know, if we are going to put in a new requirement we are actually finding ways for food vendors to be partners and for the city to be a partner to the small business community as well. >> one other thing i want to mention. the thing that it is not

contingent or applied to prepackaged off-site locations. i think that is a little problematic. how do we know that is not going to encourage to go businesses like delis and stuff, instead of producing their own ready-made stuff that they buy outside of the city or externally. that is kind of my question. how are we making sure that is not disenfranchising our on-site production san francisco produced to go items. >> it was our intent to reflect reality. do i think there is a potential loophole there that could be exploited wrongly? maybe. i think maybe some folks in the coalition that have been pushing similar ordinances around the bay area can help answer that question. you know, certainly, do i understand that there is a cost associated with that container

and that the cost of the containers going to be included in the charge that you are paying at a food vendor, or at a corner store or a grocery store? yeah, it's all kind of there. in a perfect world you would be able to get your sandwich without having it prepackaged and it might cost .25 cent less then the prepackaged food sandwich. that is a virtue that we are trying to establish. >> okay. any other questions before we going into public comment? okay, let's open it up to public comment. commission secretary? >> okay. i do have some speaker cards here. as a reminder, we will be limiting public comment up to two minutes. there is a timer. we will begin with taylor stafford with pier 39, followed by kristen teach from green to bins.

>> my name is sandra fletcher, i am the president and ceo of simcoe restaurants on pier the biggest concern is while we are very much in support of sustainability, and we are actually green business certified. we are pier 39, where 90% of our business is tourism. i don't know about any of you, but i don't travel and pack my to go containers, and to go coffee cup. we arty have a reputation that we are a tourist trap, and that overcharge. now, this is one more line item that we have to add to a check to try to explain to people from all over the world why we are charging them this. i understand, you know if you live locally. we just cannot afford this. this is another thing we are fighting against. the tourism, as you know, is one of the biggest profits. it pays everything. it's really a big concern for us

that we are going to add something else and go against the negative image that san francisco is arty receiving with the homelessness and the cost of hotels. our going to have the cost of having to pay. the customer will not understand when they come into my coffee shop, if you want this cup of coffee you're going to have to pay. i can't push them to try to sell them a to go cup. excuse me, a cup, souvenir cup that is $10, so now instead of them getting a 3-dollar cup of coffee they're going to have to get $13. it is very difficult for us on pier 39 with these types of ordinances are put in place. in 20 thank you. >> hello. good afternoon. my name is kristen, i work for green tip in. let me put my glasses on, sorry.

it is a sustainable small business located in san francisco's mission district. they make planned based -- plant -based lunches, grown locally. these are reusable containers delivered to customers by electric bicycles. when it comes to sustainability, i like to say that we truly walk the talk. green tip and has been in business for four years was founded by visionary. we have over 2,000 subscribers. when customers subscribe, they put down a 25-dollar deposit which is refunded when they and their subscription and return to us. approximately half of subscribers and up keeping it for their own personal use for their lunches, their kids lunches et cetera. the amount of disposable plastic we have prevented from going into a landfill is greater than

what we even estimate. speaking of which, since travertine began operation four years ago we estimate that we have kept over 75,000 single use or non- reusable plastic containers out of landfills by offering customers reusable containers. travertine is one small business, we have such a huge impact. imagine how much lighter if all establishments followed this lead. it is an immigrant owned bicycle power plant -based small business. this is showing us exactly how to do this legislation. on behalf of all of us at green tipon, we support the reuse ordinance. i have information if you want to read about us. >> thank you.

next speaker, please. >> i so long. the owner and founder of zeno nutrition which makes protein bars. we have a local headquarters here in san francisco. we sell hundreds of thousands of bars around the country, particularly california. we are also retailing in san francisco, gnc and other establishments. we are not directly impacted by this ordinance. we recognize this could be a harbinger of things to come down the road. we happened to support the proposed ordinance, because we have an issue ourselves with

trying to be clean and green. our bars come in a nonrecyclable , plastic wrapper. we could make them from recyclables, but it puts us at a competitive disadvantage against our competitors. unfortunately, we are not doing it. we are hoping at some point there will be legislation statewide or in congress or somewhere that requires recyclable packaging. that will level out the playing field. the difference though in this ordinance on what we are facing is unlike protein bars, this take-out charge, there is no net financial impact to business. for example, someone buys a 4-dollar latte. now they have to pay $4.25 in theory, but the owner of the establishment can reduce the price by .25 cent to reduce the cost of the cut. i don't understand the point other than one little line item on the receipt.

other than that, i think it is a clean zero impact to the business and the consumer. we would support. thank you. >> have had your protein bars too, they are very good. 1020 thank you. -- >> thank you. >> i am miriam gordon, i am the program director for upstream speaking for support. san francisco has done a great address the plastic pollution problem. 70% of the trash on bay area streets, and city streets that enters the ocean is disposable food and beverage packaging. this trashes is the result of our throwaway culture, and it is time to change that culture. it is hard to imagine changing to reusable's will actually be good for business and save businesses money. you will hear from rethink disposable today. hundreds of businesses that they have worked with and that is the truth. this is not just about reducing

later, this is also good for economic businesses. as long as food businesses give their customers disposables for free, for takeout, there is no economic incentive for customers to choose reusable's. these charges will motivate customers to either bring their own reusable, provided by the retailer or dine on sites with real cups and plates. it is well-settled that customers change their behavior to avoid at a cost. we have seen this with the bag charges. on average california bag charges have reduced litter by 80% and increased reusable's by three years ago, a survey of 500 café customers, 77% of them supported the mandatory charge for takeout cups. café owners similarly reported 71% of them, so they would support this charge if the retailer gets to keep the charge. that is the case with this ordinance.

in closing, i want to reiterate, this policy will save businesses money they will not be spending as much on disposables they will be recouping their costs with the charge, and they will save money with on-site dining. >> thank you. next speaker, please. >> hello. i am the policy organizer for upstream as well as a small business owner here in san francisco. i am going to talk dirty to you, that's a horrible joke. i have a bunch of data on neighborhood cleanups that we have compiled with recent events here in san francisco that i wanted to share with you as well as a little bit of information about how much of the city is spending on cleaning up litter right now. this year data collected during each cleanups, at baker beach included -- 86% of the total

collected. during a mission district cleanup clean up come on and around four blocks on september 28, 12 volunteers picked up three a items, 298 of which were single use beverage rap or containers. that is 74%. [reading notes] 's this is obviously a big issue for people in neighborhoods, as well as the beach. it's not just a beach issue, it's a quality of issue. people are living among this litter on our streets in different neighborhoods we have surveyed. were doing one at the civic center this month as well as another in the sunset, to find out what people are being surrounded with when they're walking i reached out to some community benefit districts to see what they are spending on how much they are picking up in their neighborhoods.

picking up yearly 377,000 pounds of street litter. that is in addition to what is being dealt with by city trash removal. tenderloin is picking up three and a 46,790 that is not being picked up by the city. with their community benefit district. that is in addition to what the city is already doing. thank you so much for your time. >> thank you. next speaker, please. >> good afternoon, commissioners. my name is amelia come on here from the san francisco chamber of commerce representing our members and small businesses who could be impacted by this legislation as currently written. we support and comply with all policies and programs designed to help san francisco reach at zero waste goals.

and sorting requirements, some are which in the implementation process for local business models to adjust. with this ordinance we have seen some concerns and questions about clarification for the small business community. a central concern of confusion is regarding applicability. the definitions of food vendors points of sale and on-site are not clearly defined in the ordinance we open for question offenders like caterers, food trucks, and limited food service providers are required to comply. economic impacts on small businesses on their ability to successfully comply with the ordinance is a crucial consideration. for example, small-scale vendors may not have the facilities needed to incorporate dishwashers on it's not just the start up costs we are also looking at additional water usage, sewage and then of as we know, san francisco is very expensive and it's hard to find and afford a dishwasher, someone

to come and i washed dishes for example. the only impact on feasible both cearley us hygiene concerns and questions arise. from customers bringing in their own food web. we encourage extensive educational outreach programs to be provided especially considering high tourist areas. up to 90% of those visitors are tourist. we would urge you to consider the need to balance environmental and economic sustainable, so our local businesses that are struggling to survive are not pushed out of the city by lack of flexibility and closed by these type of regulations. thank you so much. >> hello. thank you. my name is john borg.

we are a small business based here that makes and supplies custom foodgrade, stainless steel, reusable food wear and drink where alternatives instead a single use plastics or compostable's. we are a wholesale supplier who sells to venues and restaurants in bulk for them to set up their own reusable programs. we have been operating over a decade supplying venues, businesses of all kinds, schools, nonprofits events, restaurants with stainless steel cups, bottles, food containers, utensils and straws in bulk to help cut waste at its source. we are currently working on developing new products for to go food containers. this is definitely a developing area and more solutions -- there are better solutions and talking to a lot of our small business. we are working on developing new products for this area. having worked with stakeholders on all sides of the issue, small businesses, nonprofits and activist groups, large-scale

events, government institutions, health policy professionals, publish policy makers, you name it. i've heard a lot of the issues that have been addressed in the i believe this is the most sensible and comprehensive approach i have seen so far to cutting single use food and drink packaging. it minimizes impact on small business and maximizes reduction at meaningful scale. i can appreciate some of the apprehension some people might have. we have seen this happen before not long ago with a concerns about the plastic bag bans. a lot of the concerns that got brought up did not come to pass and stakeholders like all of us in this room work together to solve those concerns. the program was a staggering success and expired it is time for us to do the same thing for single use food and drink where services are our systems are wired for ways. we can do this together. thank you. >> thank you. next speaker, please.

>> good afternoon, commissioners. i am ruth abby with californians against waste. we are a statewide environmental organization, the oldest in the state that focuses on ways prevention and recycling. we work in the state legislature and statewide bills. we also work with local communities on innovative policies that we can model statewide. as you are probably aware, san francisco has been a leader in zero waste legislation at the local level and has partnered with us to expand these initiatives statewide. we are looking to california to lean on these issues. if were going to look at california to lead we need san francisco to lead because of its prominence in zero waste. it's demonstrated ability to innovate and show transition to a community and a world. we are very much in support of this ordinance. we think it would build on the very successful bag band that was innovated in san francisco and then expanded. we look forward to supporting

this, refining the issues which are all over and just like the grocery store, single use bag band, a cup charge or reuse on-site is something that we know san franciscans can lean on. in 20 you very much. 1020 thank you. next speaker. -- >> thank you. next speaker, please. >> have owned and operated restaurants in san francisco since 1973, have a fairly long perspective on this issue. clearly everyone in this room is supportive of reducing waste, and i think we all agree that it is a good idea. however, i think the legislation, as written, is too much too fast. i have not had a chance to review supervisor peskin's adjustments to the proposed legislation, that does impact some of my comments here.

i can't say the following. there are a tremendous number of things that the director is going to have to determine by issuing ordinance, we've got to give them time to issue it so the restaurants know how to do it. there is also an environmental impact study that says that should take place between 18-24 months after the legislation is introduced. i think i should take place before the legislation is introduced so we can see what it has to say. clearly it is practical and positive to do some of these things. a year ago we introduced these plastic straw initiative. i think while many of our guests have not been happy with the paper straws because they fall apart, it is a workable solution. people are coming up with solutions to the problem. this does not at all address take. it does not address to go

orders. to go now represents 62% in some restaurants ability to serve people. there are also a lot of unintended consequences, what is the cost to restaurant tours building space, who are providing a dishwasher for -- >> thank you. >> brian hayes, been in business here in san francisco. i think you very much for your time. i'm strongly against this is a small business. i'm about as small as you can get. i've got to go outside of my story to change my mind, we are to go, and we are in a tourist area. tourists from new zealand, and germany, they don't understand to bring their own things. i think there should be an exemption for tourist industries

mr. peskin, as a supervisor, of the tourist industry district. mainly tourists. trying to explain the straw, and apologize for the straw, and this and that. they don't understand that. we had a german fellow the other day that was livid at the cost of a drink. he was really upset about it. i think we all support the environment, and you know, i think it is fantastic. i think we need to be realistic. in peskin's district, go look for yourself. don't take my word. pier 39. go upstairs on pier 39. it is empty. it is empty. small businesses are stressed to the max. this is the only city where you see a traffic jam going out of the city during the morning rush hours. all of these buildings that used to be business district buildings, now they are becoming

condominiums, it is so business unfriendly. they mention plastics here. we are talking about paper. we proudly went to compostable paper. if you have a problem with 10% of the compostable's going to waste yard, start there. make it 95% going to be recycled and compostable. that is where the problem is. not adding another tax to the customer. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> good afternoon. my name is angie, i own angelenos deli and the richmond district. i'm here to say, it is so difficult to do business in this city, it is becoming so expensive. i have been there since 1983. every month i am wondering how i can possibly continue?

just because a minimum wage, all of the fees from the health department to the outdoor tables and chairs permit, to our utility bills being so much more because we are commercial, as opposed to residential. needless to say, if someone comes to my store and buys a to go coffee and three half paint containers that is an additional dollar that i have to charge them and i'm not sure where this .25 cent is going to go? may it's for me to keep. then i have to explain to the customer i'm so sorry. i mean, everyone wants zero waste, i don't think this is the right time. thank you. >> thank you. next speaker, please.

>> i actually have a document i would like to refer to. >> you can put it on the overhead if you would like. flip it around. >> it has been a while since i was in the community college speaking thing. >> we can also submit it to the commission for public record, at a later time. >> think if you just handed around to them. thank you. i don't usually print. i would like you to have it. should i start? my name is samantha sommer, we

have partnered with an san francisco department of the environment, and dozens of other and providing technical assistance to help food business operators voluntarily transition to reasonable food wear. we have food businesses do with this ordinance is proposing to mandate. we have extended experience working with business operations that developed our best practices for reducing risk disposables while achieving cost savings. data collected from close to 200 diverse food business operations and institutions with large cafeteria style dining show even with the initial set up cost of purchasing reusable's, dishwashing capacity ongoing cost of labor, washing and replacing lost or damaged reusable's they have all saved money. annually. this spreadsheet, oh good, you can see it now, that is 15

businesses that are certified with the recent disposable program. during a pilot in 2013-2015. what you can see here, is these 15 san francisco businesses accomplished 38,000 pounds of annual waste reduction. if you've ever -- that is a lot of practice -- packaging. with $183,000 in annual net cost savings plus 3.8 million pieces of disposable packaging eliminated. since i only have a little bit left, after a business completes the packaging makeover, their overall reaction challenges they expected as barriers are really important challenges, in the beginning. we are easier to overcome than expected, they are happy and sustaining operational changes, because they see they and we have great customer feedback.

>> thank you. >> good afternoon, commissioners. my name is grace lee, and speaking in support of on a recent disposable specialist. i worked with dozens of food businesses doing hundreds of transactions per day to new york sized yogurt shops and donut shops. i want to share one special story we use to provide insight on how perceived and actual challenges can be overcome. honolulu barbecue went with the most functional and cheapest options for food where which ended up being 14 different single use plastic containers for dine in and take out. she had no idea until we analyzed her food where purchasing that she would be

spending $6,000 per year. and buying compostable's that would be so much more. who is going to wash the dishes, especially since they refuse to watch them, she switch. where will i collect these dishes? where will i store the new dishes? this is going to be more expensive and how will my customers react to the changes? this is what we did. we switched her to 100% reusable's for dine in, and that changed, cut her packaging budget in half. from stephanie's own words, she wanted to save money and save the environment, she took it upon herself to wash her own dishes. she bought enough reusable's to last during a rush and she washed during the slow periods. she spent about three and a $50 on new reusable's and eventually with a 3,000-dollar annual cost savings from food ware purchasing, she invested in a reusable dishwasher with no

profit loss. we set up collection stations. we found stackable wears and she did not need to buy many take-out containers so this open up space. customer started asking for reusable's and started bringing in their own containers for take-out. honolulu barbecue in alameda county -- >> great, thank you. next speaker, please. >> i am lindsay. i am in support of this. i come to you with both a solution and stories about talking to the professionals i talked to so far. dispatch good offers reusable containers to restaurants where they can rent them at the same price point as a single use container, it's a really good option for restaurants that don't have additional facilities prayed we innovate with food delivery apps so you can check that option when you're checking out the food delivery app. when we start talking to restaurants about what the best

product for them would be, they have continually said the same thing. food delivery apps were changed in the nature we are trying to come up with a solution that works for restaurants, and for food delivery apps and the customer. the food delivery driver can then pick up the reusable's on the next row. -- route. we are piloting, this month, with four major restaurants downtown. the first restaurant i met with, he told me about his favorite beach in japan being littered with single use plastics and how the single use plastic container he was using. he looked at me and was like can you help me? that is when i shifted my perspective to thinking i was solving a problem for the food delivery customer to realizing

where solving a problem for restaurant owners. i think this will help accelerate that and to make customers opt for an option that restaurant owners really want, too, which is something besides a ton. thank you. >> thank you. next speaker, please.'s. >> my name is nicholas, my wife and i own and operate a wrecking ball roasters. we employ 27 people, by my back of the napkin math that we produce about 120,000 cups of coffee in the past 12 months. we are absolutely in favor of this ordinance with some caveats. two main ones, one of them, i say this and a lot of other settings, it is something we can test it first before we roll it out citywide. is there an area we can do a pilot project. are there a lot of unintended consequences.

great doing it on a larger scale will create difference for the economic force, and that is something that i think would be a responsible way of going about it. i second caveat, as with the strawman, what ended up happening was that through good intentions, we ended up further marginalizing a marginalized community over a disabled community, disabled residents here in san francisco. as you all are aware, that is the one area with this straw band that has been the most angry, and rightly so. this was something that was passed with certain objectives in mind, but without an eye with how it would affect our most vulnerable residents and citizens. this ordinance has the same potential of further marginalizing folks that are already suffering a lot. i think there is a way to approach this, in a smart way that is a little more nuance. i do think a test pilot might be in order. otherwise small business, the

small business we are in favor of the ordinance. thank you. >> great, thank you. next speaker, please. >> hello. my name is friday. i am a 15 year resident, homeowner, a small business owner in the city. i have been working with another number of small businesses with the work that i do. i just want to say, reusable's for dine in make sense. when a business has to buy disposables, they cost money. they take up valuable space and what is a very small city. they take up shelf space, they also take up a space. i have seen businesses that complain about the number of bins that they have to have. there's not a lot of space to bring bends in and out. nobody wants, but here we are

producing to find a lot of it. they also inventory disposables how to become -- monitored consul he prayed that takes time for employees to do that. they also have to be. that takes shipments, and big trucks stopping double parking in the middle of a business district. you've heard a number of people talk about later. that leader ends up in front of businesses which is not good for business. as a consumer, i bring this cup with me everywhere i go. i bring it to the airport, i put it in my backpack, i do that for my son, i do that for my husband , and just yesterday when i was in a business in my neighborhood, having lunch, my son who is five, could not use the chopsticks, so they brought him a plastic fork. instead i pulled out my own reusable fork, from my purse. while i do not mind bringing my

own cup everywhere i go. when i choose to dine and, it feels like a burden that i my own reusable cup. that seems like there is a plate that they are cleaning, there's is a cup are cleaning -- >> thank you. next speaker, please. >> good afternoon, commissioners. i know each one of us over here has a story. i truly don't. i am a small business owner, in san francisco, but let me tell you some of the things i'm sure you already know, and if you don't maybe i can refresh your memory. our labor costs in san francisco in the last four years went up 30%, according to the labor board.

in 2019, the restaurant business has graded san francisco the worst please to open up a restaurant in the country. according to a professor, the university of denver from business college, san francisco is the number one tech city in the world. however, you have seen more restaurants fail than anywhere in the country. if you're in the restaurant business in san francisco, you are in the toughest market in the country. in the next ten years, there will be a giant shift in the restaurant industry.

we have created the second most expensive city in the world to work and live in. this is a list, of our restaurants going broke in the last three years. i know i have a few more seconds, union street got closed. the commonwealth club closed after nine years. mission beach café closed after 12 years. the goldfish, 23 years. the ely café, 30 years. i could go on and on. >> thank you. next speaker, please. >> hello. my name is carolyn, i am the programs director, we are a group that carries out research

and we do that to support policies an educational campaigns. last week i was part of the project that was mentioned earlier, we did this in partnership with another local group, and we collected over 300 samples in the bay, and outside of the golden gate and all of those samples had micro plastics in them. many of those were the really small particles and a lot of those were plastic fragments. these are larger items breaking down and entering our waterways. when we are looking out the sources, we are understanding the pathways on the sources. we can link them to single-use plastic items. alongside that research, we generated a recommendation report where we got experts and stakeholders together to look at the science and generate some recommendations. one of the top recommendations

coming out of that project is to support policies that reduce single use plastic items in communities. like we heard earlier, we are a community that others look to for guidance and for examples of how to reduce plastic in our communities. we are a leader in this, we arty know this. we have another opportunity to lead on this, i'm really excited to be part of this. i hope you will consider the ordinance that is proposed. >> thank you. next speaker, please. >> hello. my name is dave hagerman, i am the native san franciscan and forty-year entrepreneur small businessman in san francisco. i too have restaurants in the fisherman's wharf area, which has already been noted at 90% tourist oriented, no one is bringing their cups down there. it's going to be an incredible

burden for the small businesses take outs, and other restaurant operations. this proposal just adds additional costs to our overburdened small business community in san francisco including increased cost of goods and labor cost. representing one more shot into the heart of small business in san francisco. the question is, is this the last straw that will finally break the back of small business in san francisco? thank you. >> next speaker, please. >> my name is karen, i am the program lead for surfrider san francisco, ocean friendly restaurants program. for the past almost two years i've been working with restaurants around the city to be recognized as ocean friendly which means that single-use plastics, reusable's only for all on-site dining. in compostable's for disposable

to go ware. i support this ordinance. i have worked with restaurants, as we mentioned we all want to move away from single use. i think restaurant owners do too. the issue is providing easy tangible solutions for those restaurant owners. helping them switch over to compostable plastics, or compostable paper to go where. it has been more of a consultation on what products they should switch to, not a question of whether they should switch. i think this can be really similar. we had some examples of some solutions on collections of these reusable items. of course we will have to work out the logistics, to go districts. i think if we all work together with the restaurant owners, we can see that.

i just want to reiterate, this is not meant to be on small business owners. the bag ban has seen huge success and i believe this can, too. >> thank you. next speaker, please. >> my name is donald courtney. i'm a very small business owner. these kiosks in tourist areas, i compete with people who just set up real tiny tots. i compete for 25 cents. twenty-five cents means a lot to me. that is competition i live with. 170 comes in that doesn't have to pay that 25 cents, i have to

pay that 25 cents on top of my rent, on top of my labor, somebody comes in and throws in a business right next to me, doesn't have any overhead, doesn't have much expense at all, and you don't pay that 25 cents, it is just one more competition i have to live with. it just makes life very difficult. i consider pleading you not to add another ordinance to my business. >> thank you. any more members of the public? come on up. >> i too am a fourth generation san franciscan and a small business owner here in san francisco. i have a business in the downtown market. as you can imagine i see visitors and locals alike. i have practiced sustainable methods for my business, for the eight years we have been open.

recycling menus, coasters for cocktails, not using linens and actually having my waste management come out of recycle bins that are as the size of residential's. i'm in big support a finding ways to not put any additional burning into our landfills and our wastewater. i also want us to give full consideration to the rollout in terms of its timing, and the impacts. i support a lot of what has been said about doing test markets, and to take a look at what are some of the repercussions we have not considered. the one that was mentioned with straws is a very good one. i also want to get really clear and be very understanding with the ordinance of what is the 25 cents, what item. if i have a package a happy meal, what is going to be charged for 25 cents when there about seven items in that package. to the person packaging the item