Food service establishment (businesses): Any person, corporation, partnership, business, facility, vendor, organization, or individual that sells, conveys, or provides merchandise, goods, or materials directly to a customer and, for the purposes of this chapter include but are not limited to:

• Restaurants
• Food trucks
• Coffee shops
• Sandwich shops and delicatessens
• Taverns, bars, and night clubs
• Grocery stores
• Convenience stores
• Catering kitchens
• Commercial food preparation facilities
• Commissary
• Schools, hospitals, health care facilities, or similar places in which food or drink is prepared for sale or for service on the premises or elsewhere
• Temporary stores or vendors at farmers markets, street fairs, and festivals

Disposable food service ware: Items used for serving, distributing, holding, packaging, and/or transporting prepared food including, but not limited to:

• Plates and bowls
• Cups
• Trays
• Deli rounds
• Clamshells and other hinged or lidded containers
• Food contact paper (e.g., wraps, bags, tray liners)
• Portion cups
• Lids, straws, stirrers, cup spill plugs, cup sleeves, condiment packets, knives, forks, spoons, chopsticks, and other types of similar items
• Cocktail sticks/picks and toothpicks
• Napkins
• Packaging that any of these individual items are wrapped in

Prepared food: Food or beverages that undergo a cooking or food preparation technique on or off the retail food establishment's premises for consumption by the customer. Cooking and food and beverage preparation techniques include, but are not limited to, the following: steaming, microwaving, simmering, boiling, broiling, grilling, frying, roasting, blending, brewing, steeping, juicing, diluting, or pouring, defrosting, rinsing, washing, diluting, cutting, portioning, mixing, blending, assembling, coating, dipping, garnishing, decorating, or icing. "Prepared food" does not include raw eggs or raw, butchered meats, fish, and/or poultry sold from a butcher case, a refrigerator case, or similar retail appliance, or prepackaged food, meaning food that was packaged by a separate entity prior to receipt by the point-of-sale food service establishment.

Businesses must use reusable food service ware for any prepared food to be consumed on-site. Reusable means an item is designed and manufactured of durable materials to maintain its shape and structure, and capable of being washed, sanitized, and used at least 1,000 times.

Additionally, businesses must:

• Serve condiments meant for onsite dining in reusable containers
• Have a dishwashing system onsite or a contract with an offsite provider to clean and sanitize all reusable food service ware consistent with state or local health code
• Ask customers where the prepared food will be consumed and use the appropriate service ware if they offer both onsite and offsite dining

Compostable straws may be provided upon customer request. Plastic straws may be provided upon request to accommodate individuals with disabilities.

View a summary reusable service ware requirements.
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Packaging Leftovers

Businesses can provide compostable food service ware for customers to take home leftovers. (See "Takeout & To-go Requirements" for compostable service ware details.)

Businesses must use compostable service ware for takeout and to-go orders. Compostable food service products are available from a variety of different vendors, but businesses must use products accepted by Shoreline's composting facility, Cedar Grove. 

View a summary compostable service ware requirements.
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View Cedar Grove approved compostable products.

Additionally, products must meet the requirements as defined by Washington State (RCW 70A.455):

• Meet ASTM D6400 or D6868 standards or be made of wood
• Display the word "compostable," where possible
• Be completely or partially tinted green, beige, or brown
• Have a logo from third party certifier logo, such as the Biodegradable Product Institute (BPI) or Compost Manufacturing Alliance (CMA) (see below)

 

Caution: A large number of products advertised as “biodegradable” are not compostable. Use of the term “biodegradable” and similar terms on plastic products is not allowed under Washington state law. Be sure the products you buy are certified compostable and do not use products labeled “biodegradable.”

Questions about acceptable products?

• Cedar Grove: 877-994-4466 or info@CGcompost.com
• Recology: 206-763-4444 or RKCWasteZero@Recology.com

Washington State has passed several laws to reduce waste and pollution from plastic items that can’t be recycled and often end up in waterways where they harm aquatic life. These new rules are part of the 2021 Plastics Law.

View a summary of the State's laws around waste and toxics reduction.

• As of October 2021, single-use plastic carryout bags are banned in all food service businesses, including retail and grocery stores, restaurants, takeout establishments, festivals, and markets. Retail establishments are only allowed to provide reusable and recycled-content carry out bags for a fee.
• As of January 2022, restaurants and food service businesses cannot automatically provide single-use items like straws or utensils with orders but may do so if a customer requests.
• As of June 1, 2024, the sale and distribution of Styrofoam food service products like containers, plates, bowls, clam shells, trays, and cups is banned.

To help businesses comply with these new rules, the City of Shoreline is offering businesses up to $500 worth of reusable and compostable service ware products to replace single-use plastic items. Eligible service ware includes:

• Reusable service ware like plates, bowls, cups, utensils, napkins, straws and bus tubs/carts to collect used dishes from customers
• Compostable or wood clamshells, trays, bowls, cups, lids, utensils, napkins, straws, and bags for packaging to-go orders
• Reusable items through an approved reusables service provider

Incentives are provided on a first-come, first-served basis. 

View the reusables and compostables incentive flyer.

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Join the Waitlist

Note: At this time, we have distributed all available incentives. 

If you would like to join the waitlist should more incentives become available, please complete this short form. We will contact you if we can provide more businesses with up to $500 of reusable and/or compostable service ware.

How It Works

Get up to $500 of reusables and compostables in 4 easy steps:

1. Sign up for a site visit to learn about switching to reusables and compostables.
2. Choose which items you want from a list of approved reusable and compostable items.
3. Submit a short application.
4. We order and bring your new service ware directly to you!

Yes. The following food service products are exempt until June 1, 2025:

• Catering trays
• Clear food wrap and shrink wrap
• Containers for uniquely shaped foods like cupcakes and deviled eggs
• Flexible plastic packaging used to preserve moisture and freshness such as for cookies
• Containers or trays for hot meat items like ribs and rotisserie chicken
• Small absorbent pads put under meat or seafood to absorb liquids in the package
• Metal foil and metal foil-faced papers used to wrap hot food such as fried chicken, hamburgers, and burritos
• Disposable metal loaf pans used to bake food items that are then sold to customers in the same container
• 3- and 4-compartment clamshells for leftovers and takeout

The City Manager may extend the exemption period for one or more of these products if they remain commercially unavailable.

You can apply for a waiver for up to one year for a specific food service product not listed above if a suitable compostable product is commercially unavailable. See "How Do I Apply for a Waiver?" below.

Yes. Recognizing that complying with these new rules may be difficult for some businesses, the City is providing a waiver program. Businesses may apply for a temporary waiver from these service ware requirements for the following reasons:

1. Waiver from the requirement to use reusable service ware for on-site dining: If you would like to use commercially approved compostable service ware instead of reusable items, you must show you are not able to comply with this requirement due to insurmountable space constraints for a dishwashing system, undue financial hardship, and/or other extraordinary circumstances.

2. Waiver from the requirement to use compostable service ware for off-site dining: If you would like to use disposable plastic service ware instead of compostable items, you must show there are not at least two suitable compostable alternatives for the plastic item and/or there are not at least two companies that make a suitable compostable alternative for the plastic item.

Apply for a Waiver

You can apply for a waiver online. You can also print, fill out, and mail a physical form to:

City of Shoreline
Attn: Environmental Sustainability
17500 Midvale Ave N
Shoreline, WA 98133

Approval Process

• We will consider your waiver request once we receive your form. We will contact you if we need more information.
• The City Manager will issue a decision within 14 days of us receiving all relevant information. Waivers may be approved for up to one year.
• The City Manager’s decision to approve or deny a waiver request is final.

Plastic straws can be provided upon request to accommodate people with disabilities. Otherwise, they are not allowed.

Compostable products are made of material that can be completely broken down, such as plant based plastics, plant fiber, wood, and paper. Additionally, products must meet the requirements as defined by Washington State (RCW 70A.455):

• Meet ASTM D6400 or D6868 standards or be made of wood
• Display the word "compostable," where possible
• Be completely or partially tinted green, beige, or brown
• Have a logo from third party certifier logo, such as the Biodegradable Product Institute (BPI) or Compost Manufacturing Alliance (CMA)

Caution: A large number of products advertised as “biodegradable” are not compostable. Use of the term “biodegradable” and similar terms on plastic products is not allowed under Washington state law. Be sure the products you buy are certified compostable and do not use products labeled “biodegradable.”

Food businesses, retailers, and others that use or distribute compostable plastics should check to make sure their supplies meet the new labeling rules by asking your vendors:

• “Does this product comply with Washington’s new labeling rules for compostable plastics?”
• “Did this producer submit a declaration to the Ecology database for this product?”
• “Does this product have a certification logo that it meets ASTM standards? The word ‘compostable’? Green, brown, or beige coloration, tinting or striping?”

“Reusable” is defined as an item designed and made of durable materials to maintain its shape and structure, and capable of being washed, sanitized, and used at least 1,000 times -- such as glass, metal, and ceramic.  

It affects disposable food service ware or items used for serving, distributing, holding, packaging, and/or transporting prepared food. These items include, but are not limited to:

• Plates and bowls
• Cups
• Trays
• Deli rounds
• Clamshells and other hinged or lidded containers
• Food contact paper (e.g., wraps, bags, tray liners)
• Portion cups
• Lids, straws, stirrers, cup spill plugs, cup sleeves, condiment packets, knives, forks, spoons, chopsticks, and other types of similar items
• Cocktail sticks/picks and toothpicks
• Napkins
• Packaging that any of these individual items are wrapped in

• Free weekly compost service through December 31, 2024, from Recology (a $70 monthly value!)
• “Slim Jim” containers and lids for back-of-house food scraps collection and a starter supply of compostable bag liners ($450 value)
• Help setting up compost bins and training staff on what can and cannot be composted
• Help adjusting garbage, recycling, and compost services to reduce operating costs

After a business is approved for the program, Recology staff will meet with the business to help with compost bin setup, review what can and cannot be composted, and provide signage and stickers, compost bins and liners, and educational materials to help business staff compost successfully.

Food service businesses in Shoreline, such as restaurants, caterers, commissary kitchens, bars, and other businesses serving or preparing food, are eligible for assistance under this program. To be eligible, a business must be operating within the City of Shoreline under a valid City-issued business license and must not currently subscribe to compost service with any provider.

To apply:

1. Fill out and sign the short application form (PDF). Also available in Spanish, Simplified Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese.
2. Return the signed application to the City by email OR mail a hardcopy:
   • By email: sbruemmer@shorelinewa.gov
   • By mail: 

   City of Shoreline Community Services
   Attn: Sarah Bruemmer
   17500 Midvale Avenue North
   Shoreline, WA 98133

Applications must be signed by the Recology account holder and the business manager, if different. Applicants will receive notification within approximately ten (10) working days of the application submittal and will be advised of next steps to receive the requested assistance.

This request does not guarantee award of assistance. The City reserves the right to approve or deny requests at its sole discretion.

• Save money! Businesses can save money by maximizing compost and recycling and reducing their garbage size.
• Attract new customers! The Shoreline community values sustainability. More than 70% of residents in the Puget Sound region report wanting to support environmentally-friendly businesses.
• It’s easy! We have waste and recycling experts available to visit your business to help optimize your composting set up and train staff on composting practices. 

Infographic showing how much money businesses can save by adding compost service and reducing their garbage service. Click the image to enlarge.

Businesses will be billed for compost service if they wish to continue after the program ends. Recology will notify customers a month before they will be billed for the compost service to allow businesses to evaluate whether they would like to continue at their own expense.

Composting benefits our environment and community, and we think it will benefit your business as well. We would love for you to continue composting after the promotion ends, however it is not mandatory at this time.   

While food waste can attract pests if improperly handled, this material is already present in your garbage cart. Potential pest problems can be minimized by bagging the material in compostable bags and keeping cart lids closed. Businesses that participate in this promotion will receive a year’s supply of compostable bags to use for their food scraps.