Official:Enacting a new Chapter 9-3100 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Food Service Waste Reduction Ordinance," to prohibit the use of disposable food service ware that contains polystyrene foam and to require the use of biodegradable/compostable or recyclable disposable food service ware by food vendors, city facility food providers, city departments and city contractors and lessees unless there is no affordable alternative; all under certain terms and conditions.
Sponsor: Councilmember Kenney
Introduced: September 20, 2007
: Committee on the Environment
Status: Lapsed
This bill was introduced in the 2004–2007 Council term and when that term ran out. The public record shows no committee vote and no floor vote at any stage, so no member of Council ever went on record for or against it.
That is not unusual here. Of the 8,465 bills introduced between 2000 and 2025, 1,624 lapsed without a single recorded vote. Ninety percent of bills that became law carry a roll call. Three percent of lapsed bills do. How this works.
This bill aims to reduce food waste in Philadelphia by prohibiting businesses from using disposable plates and cups made of polystyrene foam and requiring them to use biodegradable or recyclable alternatives.
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