Foodware Reduction in Palm Desert

About the Program

On January 1, 2022, new state legislation (AB 1276) was passed to reduce the amount of waste created from single-use items at food facilities. Food facilities are now prohibited from providing any single-use foodware accessory or standard condiment to customers unless requested. Please note, this new legislation applies to all food facilities except public and private school cafeterias, health care facilities, residential care facilities, or correctional institutions.

Impacted Products

Single use foodware accessories include:

• Forks
• Knives
• Spoons
• Sporks
• Chopsticks
• Straws
• Stirrers
• Condiment cups & packets
• Splash sticks
• Cocktail sticks

Standard condiments means relishes, spices, sauces, confections, or seasonings that require no additional preparation and that are usually used on a food item after preparation including:

• Ketchup
• Mustard
• Mayonnaise
• Soy sauce
• Hot sauce
• Salsa
• Salt
• Pepper
• Sugar & sugar substitutes

Guidelines

To reduce the amount of waste created from single-use items, the retail food industry is now required to adhere to the following guidelines:

• Only provide single-use accessories to consumers upon request.
• Only provide single-use accessories required to eat the ready-to-eat food.
• No bundling single-use accessories or condiments.
• Only offer those single-use items needed to eat or prevent spillage of the ready-to-eat food at a drive-through or public-use airport.
• A third-party delivery platform shall provide consumers with the option to request single-use accessories.
• A food facility that uses a third-party platform shall customize its menu with a list of available single-use accessories or condiments. Only those items chosen by the consumer will be delivered. If no single-use accessories or condiments are requested, none will be provided.
• Unwrapped single-use foodware accessories that are self-serve, standard condiments that are self-serve and/or bulk dispensed condiments may still be used.

Enforcement

In the City of Palm Desert, the bill will be enforced by the City's Code Compliance division beginning June 1, 2022. The first and second violations of these provisions would result in a notice of violation. Any subsequent violation would receive a fine of $25 for each day in violation, not to exceed an annual total of $300.

Signage

For your convenience, the City has developed signage that you can print and post in your food facility.

• View "Upon Request Only" signage here.