Polystyrene Ordinance

CITY OF SOMERVILLE 

ORDINANCE NO. 2013-____ 

IN THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN: ____________ 

 Be it ordained by the Board of Aldermen, in session assembled, that Chapter 8, 

Article XVI of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Somerville, is hereby inserted as 

follows:  

    

SECTION 8-351  PURPOSE 

This ordinance is enacted pursuant to the general police power in order to protect the 

health, safety and welfare of the inhabitants of the City. 

SECTION 8-352  FINDINGS 

SECTION 8-353 DEFINITIONS 

“City Facility” means any building, structure, land, or recreational area owned, leased, 

or operated by the City of Somerville. 

“Disposable Food Service Container” means single-use disposable products for serving 

or transporting prepared, ready-to-consume food or beverages, including without 

limitation, take-out foods and/or leftovers from partially consumed meals prepared by a 

food establishment. This includes, but is not limited to, plates, cups, bowls, trays, hinged 

or lidded containers, straws, cup lids, or utensils.  It does not include single-use 

disposable packaging for unprepared foods. 

“Food Establishment” means any operation that stores, prepares, packages, serves, 

vends, or otherwise provides food for human consumption, as further defined in 105 

CMR 590.002. Any establishment requiring a permit to operate in accordance with the 

State Food Code, 105 CMR 590.000, et. seq., shall be considered a food establishment 

for purposes of this ordinance. 

“Expanded Polystyrene” means blown polystyrene (polystyrene that has been expanded 

or “blown” using a gaseous blowing agent into a solid foam) and expanded and extruded 

forms, 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). 

“Prepared Food” means any food or beverage prepared on the food establishment’s 

premises, using any cooking or food preparation technique. Prepared food does not 

include any raw uncooked meat, fish or eggs unless provided for consumption without 

further food preparation.  Prepared food may be eaten on or off the food establishment’s 

premises. 

SECTION 8-354 PROHIBITION 

A.  Except as provided herein, on and after the date that is one (1) year from the 

enactment of this ordinance:  

(1) Food establishments are prohibited from dispensing prepared food to customers in 

disposable food service containers made from expanded polystyrene;  

(2) City departments or agencies shall not purchase or use disposable food service 

containers made from expanded polystyrene while in the performance of official city 

duties; and 

(3) Individuals, contractors, vendors, or other entities shall not use disposable food 

service containers made from expanded polystyrene in a City Facility while acting or 

performing under a city contract, lease, license, permit, grant, or other agreement. 

B.  Nothing in this section shall prohibit city employees from purchasing or using said 

containers for personal use. 

SECTION 8-355 LIST OF AVAILABLE ALTERNATIVES 

Not later than 30 days before the date set forth in section 8-354(a) of this ordinance, the 

Director of Environment and Sustainability shall adopt a list of available suitable 

affordable biodegradable/compostable or recyclable alternatives for each product type, 

which shall be updated regularly.  

SECTION 8-356 ENFORCEMENT; PENALTIES AND FINES 

A. The Health Department, Inspectional Services Department, or their designee shall 

have primary responsibility for enforcement of this provision and shall have authority to 

issue citations for violation(s). The Health Department or its designee is authorized to 

establish regulations or administrative procedures and to take any and all actions 

reasonable and necessary to further the purposes of this section or to obtain compliance 

with this section, including, but not limited to, inspecting any food establishment’s 

premises to verify compliance in accordance with applicable law.  The food service 

permit for any food establishment failing to comply with this ordinance may be 

suspended or revoked, upon notice and a hearing before the permitting authority, in 

accordance with applicable law.      

B. This ordinance may be enforced through any lawful process and the election of one 

remedy shall not preclude enforcement through any other lawful means.   

C. Any violation(s) of this section are subject to a penalty in accordance with Section 1- 

11 of the Code of Ordinances.  Multiple violations of this section on any one (1) calendar 

day shall constitute a single offense.   

Be it further ordained by the Board of Aldermen, Section 1-11(b) of the Code of 

Ordinances is hereby amended by inserting the following language providing for 

penalties: 

Offense Fine Enforcing Personnel 

Polystyrene Ban (Section 

8-354) 1 

st 

 Offense: Warning 

2nd Offense within 1 year: 

$100 

3rd & Subsequent Offense 

within 1 year: $300 

Health inspectors; 

Inspectional services 

division 

Approved: 

      ________________________ 

      President 

      Board of Aldermen