Revere, MA Single-Use Items: Takeout Containers (2026)

100(A) defines "disposable food service ware" as all food and beverage containers, bowls, plates, trays, cartons, cups, lids, stirrers, forks, spoons, knives and film wrap designed for one-time or non-durable use, and states the definition includes, without limitation, service ware for takeout foods and leftover food from partially consumed meals. Subsection B(2) then requires any food establishment that uses disposable food service ware to use material that is biodegradable, compostable, reusable or recyclable, and strongly encourages reusable service ware for food eaten on premises. Because subsection B(1) separately bans polystyrene, PVC and PET service ware for any prepared food served to a customer, a Revere takeout container in practice must be compostable paperboard, recyclable plastic accepted by the city's curbside program, or a reusable container rather than foam or rigid PVC or PET clamshells.

"Compostable" is defined by reference to ASTM D6400 or D6868 certification, and "biodegradable" by reference to ASTM D7081 or an equivalent marine-environment standard, with the product required to carry the applicable standard's label. Food establishments and retail establishments can seek a renewable one-year hardship exemption from the director of municipal inspections if no suitable alternative exists for a specific packaging item and compliance would cause undue economic hardship, but the establishment must reapply and re-demonstrate hardship to extend it. Violations follow the warning-then-fine schedule shared by the whole section: a warning for the first violation, then $50 for the next one within a year, and $100 for every one after that.