DENVER — A bill is headed to Denver Mayor Michael Hancock's desk that would require customers to ask for single-use items, like utensils and condiments, when ordering takeout.
City and County of Denver Council President Staci Gilmore signed the bill at Monday's meeting.
The idea of the bill is to reduce single-use items by only offering them when a customer requests them as a way to "Regulate citywide waste reduction and disposal to protect the climate and to promote energy efficiency and environmental sustainability."
Exemptions for the bill include meals provided as part of a social service to vulnerable populations, meals provided to guests staying in a hotel or similar lodging and for specific accessories, like cup lids, spill plugs and trays used to prevent spills and deliver food safely.
If found to be in violation, an establishment would receive a written warning first and up to a $999 fine for a second and subsequent offenses in the same calendar year.
The new rules won't be enacted right away, as some of the finer details need to be worked out by the city's Office of Climate Action, Sustainability & Resiliency, according to The Denver Post.
