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If you get thirsty in the Los Angeles Convention Center any time soon, don't expect to be able to buy bottled water. The Convention Center is joining the growing movement to ban the use of single use plastic bottles.

General Manager Ellen Schwartz said they've been trying to make the change for a while.

“It wasn't something that happened overnight,” Schwartz said. “It was something that we worked on for quite a while in the past. We had started before the pandemic and then the pandemic hit, and then we were able to actualize this as we're coming out of it.”

Visitors can bring reusable bottles to fill up at the Convention Center’s 24 hydration stations. The L.A. Department of Water and Power is adding clearer “fill up here” signs to help guests locate the water dispensers. Its exclusive food vendor, Levy Restaurants, has already replaced single-use plastic bottles with aluminum, and vending machine bottles have also been changed over.

“We're constantly looking at projects that will help us be more sustainable and good stewards of our environment,” Schwartz said.

The move comes as L.A. County approved an ordinance phasing in its own ban on single-use plastic food containers, cups and cutlery next year. It will take effect for restaurants in May 2023, and will be expanded later to food trucks, catering companies and farmers' markets.

The L.A. city council has also been considering how to expand its existing single-use restrictions to phase out disposable foodware.

The council banned single-use dispensers in certain businesses in November, and made it mandatory for takeout orders to only have disposable cutlery and napkins on request.

LAist is part of Southern California Public Radio (SCPR), a member-supported public media network. Hear our news on-air at our partner site:

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