Calabasas wants to know what people think about polystyrene ban
Debate brewing over plastic cups and other uses
By Michael Picarella pic@theacorn.com

Between July and August, Calabasas successfully contacted 58 out of 71 business owners in the city about whether they would back a ban on the use of polystyrene. The city surveyed businesses that might be users of the material, according to Alex Farassati, Calabasas environmental services manager.

Often called Styrofoam, a trademarked name for the plastic polymer widely used to make containers for food or used as insulation and packaging, polystyrene is considered by some to be hazardous to wildlife and the environment.

Last year, the city of Malibu adopted an ordinance banning the material. Calabasas is interested in enacting its own ban.

Polystyrene "takes decades to centuries to deteriorate," said Jennifer Voccola, environmental programs analyst for Malibu.

"It doesn't actually biodegrade, it just breaks into smaller and smaller pieces," Voccola said.

Polystyrene itself is recyclable, but is considered contaminated if it has been used to hold food, she said. Used food containers cannot be recycled or reused.

Voccola said the amount of polystyrene products and litter going to landfills is rising dramatically.

"There's not enough recycling going on with the plastics," she said. And "polystyrene . . . because of its low weight, doesn't get the same attention that some of the other plastics get."

According to Voccola, scraps of polystyrene litter pose a special danger to wildlife. Pieces end up in waterways, where animals feed on them. Although they quickly satisfy their hunger, they become malnourished and can die.

The Calabasas City Council will consider the ban of polystyrene next month, after city staff has finished collecting data from the survey. Farassati said the city would bring in plastics experts

who oppose a ban to present the council with alternative measures to address concerns over polystyrene.

"We're going to have speakers from both sides," Farassati said. "It's going to be a heated debate."