City council amends Savannah alcohol ordinance to include aluminum cups

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Downtown Savannah businesses now have a third choice when filling to-go cups for patron’s alcoholic beverages. On Thursday city council voted to amend the alcohol ordinance to add aluminum cups as an option alongside paper and plastic.

The amendment will kick off a 90-day pilot program to test out the cups and is only available to businesses located within the city's to-go cup zone. The cups are manufactured by Ball Corp., which has two manufacturing plants in Rome, Georgia.

“I appreciate council support. We're the first in the nation to be able to have a sustainable to-go cup by amending our ordinance, manufactured right here in Georgia,” said Alderman Nick Palumbo, who spearheaded the change.

The amendment passed 6-3, with  Alderwomen Alicia Blakely, Kesha Gibson-Carter and Bernetta Lanier voting against the motion.

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Blakely questioned the cost impact on small businesses during Thursday’s meeting and the previous meeting on July 8. While the aluminum cups are more costly than plastic, the use of the cups is completely optional for businesses.

“They are more expensive than the flimsy plastic cups, but they are less expensive than the souvenir plastic cups. So this is a competitive option just to give businesses the option to choose that if they want to,” Palumbo said.

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The participating businesses will provide feedback on the pilot program to the city. Patrons who receive an aluminum cup will also be able to provide their opinions by scanning a QR code on the cup, which will take them to an online survey. Users can also access the survey at savannahga.gov/gocuppilot.

Katie Nussbaum is the city and county government reporter for the Savannah Morning News. Contact her at knussbaum@savannahnow.com. Twitter: KmartSMN

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: City council amends Savannah alcohol ordinance to include aluminum cups