Calabasas Styrofoam decision put on hold

Wasteful plastic products are frowned upon



A decision on whether to ban the use of expanded polystyrene packaging in Calabasas was postponed Dec. 6 by the City Council. The night before, Santa Monica’s council okayed that city’s prohibition of the plastic material commonly c a l l e d Styrofoam. A Malibu ban on the product went into effect over a year ago.

Calabasas officials studied 10 ordinances in cities from Portland, Ore. to Southern California.

“We contacted many of the cities to get their experiences and knowledge of what has happened since they adopted their ordinances,” said Alex Farassati, Calabasas’ environmental services manager.

Farassati said the purpose of such an ordinance is to “decrease the use of polystyrene products in order to promote public health, reduce solid waste and litter, and to protect wildlife and the environment,” as well as “to eliminate the use of packaging . . . that is nonbiodegradable, nonrecyclable, and which cannot be reused.”

After a one-year grace period, the proposed Calabasas ordinance would require foodservice businesses to use biodegradable packaging for at least half their packaging. After six months, the city could not use polystyrene products or sponsor events which use it.

“Disturbingly, two-thirds of trash collected at Heal the Bay organized beach cleanups is nonrecyclable plastic, 27 percent of which is expanded polystyrene,” said Alix Gerosa, director of operations for Heal the Bay. “There is no system in California to recycle these products.”

Gerosa urged a strict ban on all nonrecyclable foodpackaging products, and disagreed with the suggestion that businesses would only need to cut half of their polystyrene.

“A ban of only 50 percent will do little to stop the waste getting to sea,” Gerosa said.

Samantha Martinez of the American Chemistry Council expressed her disappointment in the terms of the proposal, and pushed for a recycling program.

“We’ve been working with various stakeholder groups in the San Fernando Valley to build a pilot program for recycling polystyrene foam,” Martinez said. “It’s disappointing that after hearing the last council discussion . . . the only option being discussed tonight is a ban.

“The real result of a ban will be to switch the materials and increase the use of food-service products that are not recycled and that have their own environmental impacts,” Martinez said.

Stephanie Barger of the Earth Resource Foundation said she supported the ban. She called the Calabasas ordinance “very comprehensive.”

“This isn’t just about eliminating polystyrene,” Barger said. “It’s about reducing, reusing, recycling, and it’s about being good for businesses. Retailers overpackage, overconsume and buy more things than they need.”

Barger addressed the trend of businesses to move toward “zero waste” and pointed out the new Quizno’s campaign in which instore customers get a “real fork” to eat their salads.

“Starbucks saves over $5,000 per store when their customers reuse ceramics and coffee cups and plates,” Barger said. “Your businesses are getting ahead of the curve because this is coming nationally and statewide, these types of bans and this type of packaging.”

City attorney Michael Colantuono said,“I think the next step needs to be another look at the ordinance. The discussion tonight and some of the letters have convinced me that we can tighten the definitions.”

Council members also asked for a list of vendors of alternative products, and the retailers using them.

Malibu official Jennifer Voccola told the Calabasas council that her city has had trouble enforcing its ordinance because of staffing issues.

“We don’t want to be in a nonenforcement situation,” Calabasas City Councilmember Barry Groveman said. “I’m not going to vote for ordinances that are not enforceable. If I’m going to vote for it, I want to know that it’s going to be doable and achievable.”

Mayor Dennis Washburn said he supported postponing the styrofoam decision to a future meeting.

“I’m in support of the ordinance, but I am concerned about the unintentional consequences,” Washburn said. “This is a good first bite at the problem. At this point, let’s focus on getting a bulletproof ordinance that works for us and works for our businesses.”


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