Title
Recommendation to Authorize the City Manager to Execute a Five-Year Agreement with Clean Water Fund for Targeted Zero Waste Technical Assistance for Commercial Food Vendors in an Amount Not to Exceed $289,000. (Public Works 26241631)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Promoting a zero waste culture is one of the five strategies identified in the City Council approved 2018 Zero Waste Implementation Plan Update (ZWIP Update) to ensure the City of Alameda (City) meets its Zero Waste goal of 89% diversion. A critical component of creating a zero waste culture is transitioning from a disposable community to a reusable one. On April 23, 2020, the City executed an agreement with Clean Water Fund, in the amount of $51,298, to continue technical assistance support of the city's food vendors in an effort to reduce the generation of disposable food ware and progress towards use of reusables. The agreement is now expired and staff is asking for approval of a new five-year agreement with Clean Water Fund to continue this work.
BACKGROUND
In 2017, staff applied for and received a $400,000 grant from the Clean Water Fund - Ocean Protection Council, to implement a two-year program called "ReThink Disposable: Unpackaging Alameda." The grant program was launched by Clean Water Fund to create a model, "unpackaged" community that would enable 80-100 of the city's food vendors to receive support and guidance on how to transition from disposable food ware to reusable items, resulting in reduction of waste and business cost savings.
On September 19, 2017, the City Council passed the Disposable Food Service Ware Reduction Law (Alameda Municipal Code: 4-4) to reduce the number of single-use plastics generated within the City. This ordinance encouraged the use of reusable food ware, prohibited the use of single-use plastics, and required the city's food vendors to utilize compostable fiber-based packaging for to-go items.
On July ...
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