4 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 1 city in Santa Clara County, California.
Verified from official government sources
Santa Clara County Ordinance NS-1100, adopted in 2008 as the first county-level bag ban in the nation, prohibits single-use plastic carryout bags in unincorporated areas and requires a paper-bag charge. California SB-270 and AB-1162 (2024) now mirror the rule statewide.
Santa Clara County Ordinance NS-300.881 bars food vendors and county facilities in unincorporated areas from using expanded polystyrene foam containers, cups, plates, and trays. California AB-1276 (Public Resources Code section 42273) and SB-54 extend parallel statewide standards to all cities.
California AB-1884 (Public Resources Code section 42270) and AB-1276 make Santa Clara County a straws-on-request jurisdiction. Restaurants countywide cannot auto-distribute single-use plastic straws; disability requests must be accommodated without burden under state and federal law.
Cal. Pub. Resources Code § 42270
For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply: (a) "Consumer" has the same meaning as in Section 113757 of the Health and Safety Code. (b) "Food facility" has the same meaning as in Section 113789 of the Health and Safety Code. (c) "Ready-to-eat food" has the same meaning as in Section 113881 of the Health and Safety Code. (d) "Single-use" means designed to be used once and then...
California AB-1276 (Health and Safety Code §42270 et seq.) prohibits full-service and takeout food facilities from providing single-use utensils, straws, or condiment packets unless requested by the customer. Santa Clara County DEH enforces locally.
Cal. Pub. Res. Code § 42271 (AB 1276)
(a) Except as provided in subdivisions (c) and (d), a food facility, for on-premises dining or when using a third-party food delivery platform, shall not provide any single-use foodware accessory or standard condiment packaged for single use to a consumer unless the single-use foodware accessory or standard condiment is requested by the consumer. (b) Single-use foodware accessories and standard...
1 cities in Santa Clara County have their own single-use items rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
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