The town of York will form a committee to study a proposed ban on single-use plastic utensils, straws and other disposable food ware.
At a hearing Monday night, several members of the public and a few businesses spoke in support of the proposed ordinance, which a group of York High School students had introduced earlier this summer and amended recently after speaking with locals.
But several businesses said the measure still needs work and urged the Select Board to give them more time to consider how to make the shift from using disposable flatware to reusable or compostable options.
Caitlynn Ramsey of the Anchorage Inn and the Sun & Surf restaurant in York applauded the students for introducing the concept, but said the proposal still goes too far. She’s worried that paper and compostable utensils and straws are not yet suitable replacements for sturdier plastic ones.
“I believe that our visitors are progressive,” Ramsey said. “However, they’re also very demanding, so they definitively want something that will suit their needs.”
The amended ordinance prohibited the sale, distribution and use of single-use plastic straws, stirrers and cutlery. It required York restaurants and food providers to use reusable utensils where washing facilities exist, and compostable utensils and containers if those facilities are unavailable or not practical. The measure also specified that coffee shops with businesses that are primarily take-out should create a program incentivizing their customers to bring their own cups.
The York High School students had hoped the measure could appear on the November ballot.
But Select Board member Marilyn McLaughlin said that next spring may be a better time to bring the measure to the voters.
“I don’t want the young people to lose that momentum that they have. And I know you guys are disappointed in the wording and all that’s going on right now,” McLaughlin said. “But we are here to support you, and to make sure that once this is put on the ballot, that it actually passes.”
This article appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.
