Posted on 07/04/2022 12:17:14 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Beverages—not including those in reusable cups—purchased in unincorporated Santa Cruz County now have a 25-cent fee tacked onto the price
Starting today, anyone purchasing a beverage in the unincorporated parts of Santa Cruz County—and who didn’t bring their own reusable cup—will notice a 25-cent fee tacked onto the price.
That is due to the county’s new disposable cup fee, which was created to reduce the amount of single-use cups for hot and cold beverages going into landfills.
Approved in November 2019, the fee was delayed during the Covid-19 pandemic to avoid adverse impacts on local businesses.
“Santa Cruz County is a leader in the efforts to reduce the flow of plastics and other disposable products into the environment,” said County Supervisor Zach Friend in a press release. “This is a common-sense measure that should help reduce the 5 million disposable cups that are thrown away each year in our county while raising funds for essential environmental clean-up programs in our area.”
The profits from the fee were originally slated to go to the businesses. Measure C, approved on June 7 by more than 69% of voters, mandates that the fee will be evenly split between the businesses and the county’s general fund after Jan. 1, 2023.
The cities of Watsonville and Santa Cruz have their own fees, charging 10 cents and 25 cents, respectively.
The ordinance impacts both permanent and temporary businesses, food trucks, events and other events where beverages are served.
Sellers may not waive or absorb the cup fees.
The fees will be identified on receipts, and customers must be notified of the fee on menus.
Under the ordinance, customers may bring reusable cups, and retailers must accept them unless the container is cracked, chipped or corroded. Retailers may also reject the cups if they are too big, too dirty or damaged or are made from inappropriate material.
For information, email zerowaste@santacruzcounty.us or call 454–2160.
Yet another reason not to let UCSC transients vote in county elections
What a way to introduce disease and pestilence into the general population.
Fast Food hardest Hit!
Seriously.
How does this STOP single cup use?
Especially with inflation already boosting the costs of drinks by almost whole dollars?
Note this will also greatly increase the use of water to wash dishes in a state that’s already got issues with the water supply!
But I’m sure they’ll put that money to good use supporting transgenders giving book readings to homeless people on the streets.
the fee was delayed during the Covid-19 pandemic to avoid adverse impacts on local businesses.
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But now adverse impacts on local businesses are ok.
The Commissars have spoken ... peasants bring your cups and bowls to get your gruel and water.
Now, will folks just supersize and share (beverages and viruses)?
This is just like the stinking bag fee, replacing paper with the plastic THEN finding OMG the landfills are overrun with plastic that is NOT biodegradable it is such a shame that the people leading this nation are honestly the MOST STUPID among us!!!
This won’t help anything except some fat cats who will now collect even more money.
The S.F. Bay Area had the worst litter I’ve ever seen anywhere in the U.S. I don’t see them breaking that habit.
What I do see are a lot of empty beer cans, glass bottles and those airport-sized plastic "nips" bottles.
I think there also needs to be a fee for masks... they keep throwing them away... maybe we can have a 5 cent refund to encourage folks to pick them up and recycle...
Yet, billions of masks are thrown all over Kali.
Savages of all stripes.. Bring your own cup and smear your slovenly, disease ridden lifestyle all over the soda dispenser. Go.
My very first thought! If I was an employee I would refuse to handle a cup brought by a customer. 🤢
I’m old enough to remember when drinks were served in glass, tables had cloths on them, napkins were cotton and dinnerware was metal. Carryout drinks were in waxed paper containers. and that was in the cheap places.
Most of them are failed lawyers, who could cut it at the courthouse, with their hands out for kickbacks.
It's like guns: it isn't the instrument, it's the humans who are thoughtless about the instrument.
I thought this was going to be a thread about baseball.
😆
So there is a guy at the corner selling cups for a dime with out the beverage.........................
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