Food
Container Ban Kicks in Saturday |
By Lookout Staff
February 8 -- One of California's broadest bans on Styrofoam
and non-recyclable plastic carry-out containers goes into effect
Saturday in Santa Monica, and City officials have been helping food
service providers comply with the law.
Approved by the City Council in December 2006, the ban prohibits
food providers from serving food – mostly to go items –
in containers made from blown polystyrene – or Styrofoam –
a ban similar to that in several other cities.
But the Santa Monica law – which includes a hardship provision
for businesses -- also goes a step further, banning non-recyclable
plastic, including expanded polystyrene and clear polystyrene with
the designated recycling symbol #6.
Plastic food service containers have become a major pollutant in
Santa Monica’s coastal waters, harming marine birds and fish
and slowly choking the oceans, as in evidenced by the trash that
washes up on local beaches during heavy rains, officials said.
“A lot of our ocean is now just full of plastics,”
said Andrew Basmajian, who heads the City’s Environmental
Division, which is in charge of enforcing the ban. “The animals’
guts are full of plastic. They can’t digest it and it slows
them down.”
“By providing sustainable to-go containers we continue to
eat well while protecting the health of the Santa Monica Bay,”
Basmajian said.
All told, the law applies to plates, bowls, cups, trays and hinged
or lidded containers. Not included in the ban are disposable items,
such as straws, cup lids or utensils, nor single use disposable
packing for unprepared foods, such as meat trays at grocery stores.
Also not included are plastic bags from food stores, which cannot
be regulated by cities under State law.
Santa Monica hired staff to prepare food providers for the ban
by offering personalized assistance to businesses, City officials
said. The City also developed a website
to provide the resources needed for businesses to transition to
other types of containers.
“There are a million alternatives,” said Basmajian,
“but paper I where everyone is going.”
In its ongoing effort to reach affected businesses, the City has
partnered with a dozen leading restaurants, the Santa Monica Chamber
of Commerce, the Bayside District and Heal the Bay.
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