Over the years—and through several elections—Malibu City Council has established itself as an environmentally conscious body, hoping to set an example for surrounding cities. That’s why it should come as no surprise that council is taking steps toward two of perhaps its boldest initiatives to date—the banning of plastic straws and plastic bottles in the city.
While one of those—the banning of plastic straws—seems just around the corner, though, the banning of plastic bottles “probably somewhere between a 16 and 24 ounce container” and smaller (in the words of Mayor Skylar Peak) is a little more of a stretch, council agreed Monday.
When it comes to straws, Peak pointed out, many are technically already banned under the blanket polystyrene ban already enacted in the city, but it could be just a matter of months before the sale or distribution of plastic straws anywhere in the city is banned.
When it comes to bottles, council asked staff to do more research—with the aid of organizations such as the American Beverage Association (ABA) and California Bottled Water Association, both of which sent representatives to the meeting.
“We hope you consider the ABA a resource as you move forward and keep us as a part of your discussion,” ABA’s Jessica Ward told council. Mayor Pro Tem Rick Mullen seemed receptive.
“I wanted to thank both speakers from people who sell things in bottles,” Mullen said. “I think it’s important for you, obviously, and I’m guessing you’ve probably dealt with this in other towns and so forth and hopefully the city will work with you.”
Ward said her organization represents many beverage companies such as Coca Cola, Pepsi Co. and Snapple Group.
Calls to reject new oil rigs off the SoCal coast
Council voted unanimously, 5-0, to approve a letter sent to the federal administration calling for a ban on any new “offshore oil and gas drilling, fracking and other well stimulation in federal and state waters off the California coast, and urging that no new federal oil and gas leasing be permitted in all U.S. waters, including off the coast of California.”
Mullen questioned the need for the letter, stating that since “offshore oil exploration is expensive, and there’s lots of cheaper ways,” there was no impending threat of an expansion in offshore drilling. According to statistics found by Mullen, offshore drilling has fallen in popularity.
The idea for the letter, presented by Council Member Laura Rosenthal, came in response to the Trump Administration’s move toward possibly opening up the state to more oil drilling. In April 2017 the president signed of the America First Offshore Energy Executive Order, which lawmakers in California felt was a direct threat that the administration could expand oil drilling in California and Alaska.
“You’d think that would make sense, but that’s not where the threat is coming from—the public—the threat is coming from the federal government,” Rosenthal said.
Self-regenerating water softeners banned to protect future drinking water source
The ban on water softeners in the City of Malibu will move forward, but only for residents and businesses in the Civic Center area.
Council made the first move to ban water softeners in the city, despite some protestations from residents. Only self-regenerating water softeners will be banned, though it’s important to note self-regenerating water softeners are by far the most common and affordable option in the city.
“The use of self-regenerating water softeners to treat water hardness could cause unacceptable levels of salinity in local water resources and there is substantial evidence that it can contribute to premature failure of onsite wastewater treatment systems,” the staff report for the Oct. 9 city council meeting detailed.
“Are we taking away the right of somebody to have soft water? No, we’re not,” City of Malibu Sustainability Director Craig George said at the meeting. “We’re taking away one method.”