City council in Marina, California, expected to enact ordinance banning PS foam containers from restaurants, fast-food outlets, says it delayed implementing such a ban due to legal challenges, which have largely been settled

Bdebbie Garcia

LOS ANGELES , November 3, 2011 (Industry Intelligence) – A ban on polystyrene (PS) foam food containers is expected to be enacted this week in Marina, California, after the city council last week gave its preliminary approval of the ordinance, reported The Monterey County Herald on Oct. 28.

Last week, the city council preliminarily approved the ban in a unanimous vote, and is expected to give the ordinance final approval on Tuesday.

The law would mandate that restaurants and fast-food outlets phase out their PS foam food containers and replace them with biodegradable alternatives, over a period of several months, the Herald reported.

Marina has considered banning PS, as well as plastic bags used by grocery stores, since 2008 but decided against it because of ongoing legal battles over the bans in other areas. However, those legal challenges have been largely resolved, according to a council staff report.

Other communities in Monterey Bay have already enacted bans on PS foam food containers, including Monterey, Monterey County, Seaside, Pacific Grove and other jurisdictions, reported the Herald.

Marina’s new ordinance is based on a mandate that Del Rey Oaks approved and wrote with the help of the Monterey Regional Waste Management District.

Marina Mayor Bruce Delgado said on Thursday that he spoke with restaurants about the new ordinance and although they were unfamiliar with it, “they were not at all concerned,” the Herald reported.

The primary source of this article is The Monterey County Herald, Monterey, California, on Oct. 28, 2011.

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