Council in San Carlos, California, eyes PS packaging ban that would emulate San Mateo County's existing ban, be enforced by the county to curb costs, encourage uniformity; 18 of city's 23 restaurants in favor

Lorena Madrigal

LOS ANGELES , January 23, 2012 (Industry Intelligence) –

A decision on possibly moving forward with a ban on polystyrene (PS) packaging will be considered by the council in San Carlos, California, at its meeting on Jan. 23, reported The Daily Journal the same day.

If approved, the San Carlos council would move to draft and adopt an ordinance that would emulate one already in place for California's San Mateo County, and allow the county to enforce it.

For cities that adopt its ban, the county has offered to have environmental health inspectors help with creating and enforcing the local bans, as a way to encourage uniformity, The Daily Journal reported.

By adopting the county’s ban, cities lower their costs and have a legislative framework that has already been proven.

San Carlos officials have talked about the PS ban for some time but took time to gather opinions from local residents and businesses.

Of the 23 restaurants in town, 18 support the ban, including six of the nine still using PS, according to a survey. Of those nine, four want 30-60 days to transition to new containers, and four others want 90 days or more, reported The Daily Journal.

If the council moves forward with an ordinance, a six-month transition period is recommended by San Carlos Assistant City Manager Brian Moura.

In Mateo County, Millbrae, South San Francisco, Pacifica and San Bruno have their own PS bans; Foster City, Half Moon Bay and Burlingame have enacted the county’s ban; Belmont and Redwood City are considering adopting the county’s ban.

The primary source of this article is The Daily Journal, San Mateo, California, on Jan. 23, 2012.
 

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