These days when you go into a Goleta restaurant, single-use foodware is only available upon request. Single-use foodware includes any utensils, condiment cups/packets, straws, stirrers, and splash sticks. The Goleta City Council adopted an ordinance to regulate single-use foodware accessories and standard condiments at their May 17, 2022, Council meeting, bringing Goleta into compliance with California Assembly Bill (AB) 1276. The City’s ordinance went into effect on June 17, 2022.

The new ordinance helps to regulate and reduce local single-use plastics and further divert waste from our landfills. The City encourages community members to utilize or bring reusable items whenever possible and take only what they need of single-use items available at local restaurants. Goleta restaurants can still use single-use foodware and bulk condiment dispensers for customer use, and of course provide all single-use items upon request. The City commends its residents and businesses for their commitment to working together to reduce single-use waste and improve its collective impacts upon the local environment. We are in this together!

Next, the City is looking into an ordinance to ban expanded polystyrene (EPS) foodware, following over 120 jurisdictions across California that already have restrictions on EPS to improve the health of safety of their communities and environment. 

Learn more about the new ordinance here. For more on the City’s Sustainability Program, go to https://cityofgoleta.org/sustainability.