Commission staff warns reusable-cup requirement could hit small event budgets

Dylan Rice, senior analyst for community and cultural events, told the Entertainment Commission on June 19 that proposed legislation under consideration by the Department of Environment would require events on city property with 100 or more attendees to ensure at least 10% of attendees have reusable cups, either brought by attendees or provided by the event.

"The ordinance says that any event that takes place on city property must ensure that at least 10% of their attendees have reusable cups," Rice said, adding that the legislation could apply both to indoor and outdoor events and that the director of the Department of Environment could raise the percentage over time.

Rice and commissioners flagged several practical concerns: who would pay for cups; storage and cleaning requirements (health code and three‑compartment sinks for vendors); potential line‑speed impacts at high‑turnover beverage stations; and the difficulty of enforcement if attendees bring their own cups. Rice said Environment has authority to issue fines and to provide diversion reports from Recology that could inform permitting decisions. He said the office will convene a focus group of event producers and Department of Environment staff to gather real‑world input before the legislation is considered by the Board’s safety committee.

Commissioners and public participants described prior pilot efforts with low take-up, noting that even with incentives large events returned most cups unsold or unused. Rice said staff plans to circulate the legislation text to commissioners and to ask event producers for implementation ideas and pilot proposals so the ordinance language can be crafted with practical mitigations for small nonprofits and tight-budget producers.

Next step: staff will circulate a link to the draft legislation and convene a stakeholder meeting to evaluate pilot approaches and enforcement mechanisms prior to committee consideration.