ENVIRONMENT CALIFORNIA– Take-out food and drinks in Palo Alto will come in either paper or
plastic containers after the city council on Monday voted unanimously to
ban expanded polystyrene, popularly but incorrectly called Styrofoam.
The
ban will take effect next Earth Day — April 22, 2010 — despite calls
for an earlier start from some on the council. A restaurant group
thanked the city for the grace period, saying it will help small
businesses use up existing supplies before making the transition.
As
a concession to the trade group, the city offered an additional
one-year “hardship” exemption to businesses that can show they would be
hurt financially by the switch to other materials.
Palo Alto
follows Oakland, San Francisco, Millbrae and several other cities in
banning polystyrene foam, which is hard to recycle and often ends up as
litter. Volunteers in Palo Alto have photographed bits of the foam in
local creeks, where it can harm fish and other wildlife.
The ban
will force businesses to shift to packaging made of either recyclable
plastic, paper or other compostable materials. According to a city
survey, more than two-thirds of Palo Alto restaurants already avoid
polystyrene foam.
Continue reading about Palo Alto Bans Styrofoam.
© Environment California, 2009
Photo by flickr user Skyepeale
