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By Jorge Casuso
February 11 -- In her office above the carousel on the
Santa Monica Pier, Josephine Miller sorts through two bins filled
with alternatives to the Styrofoam and non-recyclable plastic products
banned in Santa Monica starting Saturday.
The paper snow cone is the Victorian’s answer for French fries to go,
while the plastic container made of corn is used by the Border Grill for take
out.
“I’m getting a lot of calls -- ‘What do I do? What can I
buy?’” says Miller. “These are examples of thinking out of
the box and not perceiving that the cheap way to go is Styrofoam. I don’t
want it to come from me, I want it to come from their peers.”
For Miller -- who acts as a free consultant for businesses -- and colleague
Andrew Basmajian, the City’s environmental outreach specialist, abiding
by the ban is not just a matter of following another law, it’s a way of
banding together to help save the planet by changing small everyday actions.
“This is the first incremental step,” Basmajian says. “This
is a first step in making a sustainable food movement. We’re trying to
improve the environment without hurting the economy. We’re not hurting
business in any way. This is a move forward for human kind.”
“If you can change one action, there is a ripple effect,” Miller
says.
While the word “ban” is not a friendly one and puts off those fed
up with an overabundance of laws, the alternative is far uglier – beaches
washed up with containers that only skim the surface of a problem slowly choking
our oceans.
“It’s the ultimate litter,” says Basmajian. “It’s
lightweight. Its breaks apart into the tiniest little miro-cell, but it never
breaks down. It’s impossible to clean up. It’s a product that’s
used for 30 seconds and lasts 500 years.”
But the ban faces a major challenge -- convincing struggling restaurant owners
it won’t take a big bite out of the bottom line -- as well as a formidable
foe -- the Styrofoam industry that has launched a well-heeled counter attack.
Miller’s job is to help the worried restaurateurs -- as well as food
vendors in hotels, hospitals and places of worship -- find affordable alternatives
that will “make the ban successful and as easy as possible.”
The former kitchen line worker has been visiting affected establishments, sending
them brochures, holding special events and posting pictures of those who “have
been doing it without a ban.”
“There are a million alternatives,” says Miller, as she pulls a
paper container from the bin. “It’s going back to what our grandmothers
used when they gave us our lunches wrapped in a piece of paper.”
In addition to meeting with 7-Eleven and Jamba Juice to encourage them to find
alternatives, Miller is also meeting with representatives of Smart and Final
and the 99¢ Store and urging less well to do business owners to pool together
their resources and buy alternative products in bulk.
“They shouldn’t have to be wealthy or middle class to do the right
thing,” Miller says. “We have to provide what they need and educate
them.”
The good news is that the price of doing the right thing quickly dropping.
The list of companies that provide alternatives to Styrofoam has doubled in
the past six months, Miller says. “New distributors are popping up, prices
are going down.”
But the restaurant owners are under pressure from the Styrofoam industry, which
has launched a web site with the message – “Don’t take away
our take out. Stop the ban on to-go containers.”
Despite industry opposition, the list of cities imposing the ban is growing.
“Laguna Beach did it,” says Basmajian. “Long Beach is looking
at it. Burbank went to council last night. Malibu did it two years ago.”
“The community made this ban happen, and the community will enforce it,”
Miller says.
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