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City staff flag DoorDash reusable foodware pilot; merchants outreach and county partnership planned
Summary
Public Works staff said DoorDash has approached Half Moon Bay about piloting a reusable to‑go foodware program modeled on Petaluma's pilot. Staff will seek a formal proposal and conduct merchant outreach before bringing recommendations to council.
City staff told the Half Moon Bay City Council Wednesday that DoorDash has proposed a pilot program to provide reusable takeout foodware to customers using the delivery platform. Helen Walter of Public Works said staff has been in discussion with DoorDash and expects a formal proposal "any day." She said the pilot would be modeled on a 2024 Petaluma program in which participating restaurants used reusable to‑go cups and shared return bins.
Walter said the expected DoorDash pilot would be available only to DoorDash customers and that DoorDash has hired a vendor to manage the reuse logistics and bin servicing. "They have hired a vendor...the proposal is that their bins would be serviced twice a week through the pilot period," she said. Staff plans to contact local merchants listed on the DoorDash app; an intern will begin outreach to 17–18 merchants to record merchant interest and concerns.
Walter said the company is also interested in piloting the program on the Midcoast, which would involve cross-jurisdictional coordination with San Mateo County. Staff told council that they will return with a formal DoorDash proposal and recommended next steps once the vendor's plan is received. No formal council action was taken.
