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216 7. Take Out Food Containers — State of the Region <br />217 Civil Engineer Stephanie Smith made a presentation to the Commission on take- <br />218 out food containers. <br />219 <br />220 Mr. Johnson indicated the City has been working on making events zero waste and <br />221 the costs ended up being afew cents each per item. He thought looking at it from a <br />222 business side, there could be a sticker shock from one type of container to another, <br />223 if purchased in bulk. <br />224 <br />225 Ms. Smith indicated she could reach out to some businesses in St. Paul to see what <br />226 their impact has been for turning to compostable containers. <br />227 <br />228 Chair Wozniak indicated container costs are one factor but he was wondering about <br />229 other costs such as did business choose to leave a city due to compostable or <br />230 recyclable container requirement. <br />231 <br />232 Ms. Smith thought the cities would be more lenient on those measures instead. St. <br />233 Louis Park and Minneapolis both had allowances for if the businesses were not able <br />234 to find a compostable or recyclable alternative from what the business typically <br />235 uses. <br />236 <br />237 Chair Wozniak indicated another perspective he would like to hear from is from the <br />238 recycler. <br />239 <br />240 Ms. Smith indicated she would be interested in that information too. She did not <br />241 think Minneapolis was single sort like Ramsey County is with Eureka She thought <br />242 there are other ways the Commission can talk about sustainable practices. <br />243 <br />244 Member Spencer asked what the plan is for the plastic bags that carryout the take- <br />245 out containers. <br />246 <br />247 Ms. Smith indicated Minneapolis has a plastic bag ban. She thought if the <br />248 Commission wanted to consider a plastic bag ban that could be reviewed and would <br />249 affect retail stores as well as restaurants. <br />250 <br />251 Chair Wozniak thought the both the recycling vendor and waste processing facility <br />252 would appreciate that. He noted bags get stuck on processing equipment and have <br />253 to be jackhammered off the equipment at the end of each day. <br />254 <br />255 8. Business Sustainability Recognition Program <br />256 Civil Engineer Stephanie Smith made a presentation on the Green Business <br />257 Recognition Program. <br />258 <br />259 Vice -Chair Ficek indicated the programs seem to be successful and he wondered if <br />260 they were accepted by businesses. He asked if there is any feedback from <br />261 businesses in other cities. <br />Page 6 of 9 <br />