In response to business concerns, a new ordinance is drafted that would ban polystyrene expandable foam, a scientific term for the more specific kind of plastic foam.
By Jonathan Friedman/Assistant Editor
The City Council is expected to approve an ordinance on Monday that would ban certain types of plastic foam.
All five council members support a prohibition of the material, although Mayor Andy Stern and Mayor Pro Tem Ken Kearsley have said they want a city ban on all kinds of plastic foam, while the city ordinance would only outlaw certain types.
The council’s determination to rid the city of a material that many environmentalists say is harmful to nature has been a saga that began last year when the council banned smoking on the beach. At that time, former council candidate John Mazza proposed that the council outlaw plastic foam. In February, the council approved such an ordinance by a vote of 4-1, with Councilmember Jeff Jennings opposing.
In the weeks after the prohibition was approved, several merchants began to complain that the ban, which was scheduled to go into effect in July, would be detrimental to their businesses. Then the issue became more intense when it was discovered the ordinance would cover more than what people would normally think of as Styrofoam, but also include items such as coffee cup lids and certain everyday containers.
In response to these concerns, last month the council voted to have the city attorney draft an ordinance that would ban polystyrene expandable foam, a scientific term for the more specific kind of plastic foam that does not include coffee lids and certain containers. The vote was 3-2, with Kearsley and Stern disapproving. They wanted the original ordinance to remain.
At the May 22 council meeting, Kearsley said, “I think the answer really is to ban it and let the next city ban it, and the next city and the next city until it’s gone. [Then] it is gone and in the Smithsonian Institute [where there will be an exhibit] to say, ‘look how stupid we were; we did not have a sustainable society for the last 50 years.'”
Despite the council easing the restriction with a new proposal, several merchants were still upset. Diana Nielsen, owner of Malibu Yogurt & Ice Cream, told The Malibu Times that this will force her to use paper cups, which she said will not keep the frozen yogurt cold for long, and it will quickly melt.
“I really believe people will stop buying large [yogurts],” Nielsen said last month.
Less Wiggins, owner of the Malibu KFC, said last month he is not sure what he would do because the ban will outlaw the containers in which he serves the side dishes.