City Council approves Styrofoam ban in restaurants

[The Straight Story]

City Council approves Styrofoam ban in restaurants

Watsonville’s (CA) restaurants and retail food outlets have seven months to stop using Styrofoam after the City Council approved an ordinance Tuesday to prohibit the use of polystyrene foam containers for prepared food within the city limits.

Polystyrene foam is the only type of plastic that can’t be recycled in the Monterey Bay area. Facilities do exist in the state, but transporting the plastic foam isn’t a viable option due to the cost and the fact that it ends up in the landfill. Polystyrene is also a significant pollutant in the bay. The California Coastal Commission has estimated that more than 1 million seabirds, 100,000 marine mammals and countless fish die each year from ingesting polystyrene.

“It’s about time we did this,” City Councilmember Emilio Martinez said before the vote. “It’s a no-brainer. I’ve been fishing the bay for 40 years and I’ve seen how the garbage has affected it, how the otters have been affected by all this plastic. It’s unbelievable.”

http://www.register-pajaronian.com/V2_news_articles.php?heading=0&page=72&story_id=6921

[Captain Hilts]

1. If only they'd ban plastic utensils. nt