[robonerd]

> a rule stating that all takeout food must be packaged or covered

> On May 6, 1986 Carmel City Council passed a resolution to enable a rewrite of the ordinance related to eating places and takeout food and make said ordinance more friendly toward ice cream parlors. The new language made eating establishments that “primarily serve frozen desserts” their own category

So they solved this inane takeout ordinance by exempting frozen desserts. I guess takeout hotdogs, pretzels, etc are still required to be sold with excessive packaging. Or perhaps a little paper dish for a hotdog is sufficient packaging? Could they have sold icecream cones if they put the cone into a paper sleeve?

Some of the things small towns see fit to regulate give an undue bad name to all government regulation.

[ROTMetro]

There was an issue with trash at the beaches and all over. They resolved the issue, but also left a carveout for the joy that is eating ice cream because enough people supported it or its proponent. Seems like responsive government to me that made room for a little joy.

[plorkyeran]

Why would requiring packaging for takeout food reduce trash at the beaches? I would expect it to have the exact opposite effect.

[ROTMetro]

If I remember right it was to do away with things you eat immediately and then just throw away the wrapper (for my family we could no longer get focaccia in a little paper bag that we would eat while we walked, I guess a box was too wasteful/expensive?), while still allowing things you took back home/to hotel. So pizza slices on a sheet of wax paper bad, chinese food to go good.

[gwern]

> They resolved the issue

I don't see anything in OP about there being a trash issue or about any trash issue being successfully resolved by this heavyhanded regulation.

[ROTMetro]

Just going off my memory of it. I could be wrong, it was a while ago.

[mdp2021]

> a rule stating that all takeout food must be packaged or covered

In some cultures the idea of "preserved food already supposed to be freshly confectioned" would cause civil unrest.