Title
Amending Chapter 236 of the Legislative Code regarding plastic packaging. (Public hearing held October 4, 2017; laid over from February 20, 2019 for public hearing on March 6)
Body
THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAINT PAUL DOES ORDAIN:
Section 1
Section 236.01 of the Saint Paul Legislative Code is hereby amended to read as follows:
Sec. 236.01. - Legislative purpose.
(a1) The council finds that discarded packaging from foods and beverages constitutes a significant and growing portion of the waste in Saint Paul's waste stream. Regulation of food and beverage packaging, therefore, is a necessary part of any effort to encourage a recyclable and compostable waste stream, thereby reducing the disposal of solid waste and the economic and environmental costs of waste management for the citizens of Saint Paul and others working or doing business in Saint Paul.
(b2) The council further finds that plastic packaging is rapidly replacing other packaging material and that most plastic packaging used for foods and beverages is nondegradable non-compostable, nonreturnable and non-recyclable.
(c3) The council also finds that the two (2) main processes used to dispose of discarded nondegradable non-compostable, nonreturnable and non-recyclable plastic foods and beverage packaging are land filling and incineration, both of which should be minimized for environmental reasons.
(d4) Chemicals hazardous to human health and to the safety of the environment are present in the composition of plastic packaging and have been found to escape into the air when this packaging is burned in incinerators and contribute to environmental problems associated with ash residue resulting from the incineration process.
(e5) The council, therefore, finds that the minimization of nondegradable non-compostab...
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