ACTION (polystyrene ban), REaction (paper bottles)

Happy Tuesday - the day of the week in which all get productive!


First off - ACTION: California is shootin' for a state-wide polysytrene (StyroFoam) take-out food-container ban - go here to sling an email to your "elected" that encourages them to support the ban. All ya gotta do is enter your California zip code, and the application will figure out your designated State Senator, and even write the email to them, supporting the ban - EEEEAZY - go now!


Secondly, REaction: sick of plastic bottles (side bar: one attendee called the grounds of SoCal's annual & recently-held and once-eco-friendly-music-fest Coachella 2011, "a sea of empty plastic water bottles" - YUK!)?? - so are the people at BrandImage - they have come up with a paper water bottle. Clever yes, but is it reusable - well, yeah, kinda...better than not. A step in the right direction, fer sher...hopefully, tho, someday we can force ourselves to be reverse-weaned from our disposable water bottle ("bah-bah", as we called it in infancy) addiction...? Start now!

Foam-Free Fremont (Calif)

Great News! Fremont will become the fifth city in Alameda County, California (SE San Francisco Bay Area) to implement a plastic-foam ban, joining Alameda, Berkeley, Emeryville and Oakland. (Santa Cruz county has been verrrry progressive on this action as well - check it out!)

Slated to begin on 1/1/2011, the Fremont styrofoam ban was proposed and passed by the local city council and will be applied to restaurants and those doing business with the city…though grocery stores will not be subject to the ordinance. Read all about it here.

California is knocking these ordinances out, city by city…perhaps it’s time for a state-wide initiative? I vote YEA!

Current PolyStyrene Ban List

Polystyrene, extruded-polystyrene, styrofoam, aromatic polymer...or whatever-ya-call-it: Public Enemy 1.01! Following is a list of current, ongoing and planned polystyrene take-out, single-use, food-container bans. Most are in California, though the trend is spreading. Look for your town on the list - if it's not there, prod your local Surfrider chapter and help them get crackin' on it!

"Foodware" is the most eggregious use of the stuff. Smart eaters avoid any hot food that's been touchin' that form of plastic. Ever microwaved a meal in one of those take-out containers?? The process welds the plastic to the food, bLOrP!...so just placing warm food in a container of that material gives me the heebie-jeebies. ...and nobody likes the heebie-jeebies.

At my local beach, especially on Monday mornings, the area is strewn with the stuff, as if a styro-bomb had gone off overnight, WAH-BAM-poof! Truth is - the seagulls attack the containers in the trash cans and rip it to pieces searching for every last food particle therein...with the ocean just steps away. The stuff is Trouble...with a capital "T". Get it out of your community, tout de suite!

Below the following city list is a set of links to more info on polystyrene ban efforts. HAVE AT IT!

POLYSTYRENE FOOD-WARE BANS IN CALIFORNIA

Bans on all Polystyrene Food-Ware

1. City of Del Rey Oaks
2. City of Laguna Beach
3. City of Monterey
4. City of Richmond
5. City of San Bruno
6. City of Santa Monica
7. City of West Hollywood

Bans on Expanded Polystyrene Food-Ware

8. City of Alameda
9. City of Berkeley
10. City of Calabasas
11. City of Capitola
12. City of Carmel
13. City of Emeryville
14. City of Fairfax
15. City of Hercules
16. City of Laguna Beach
17. City of Malibu
18. County of Marin
19. City of Newport Beach
20. City of Oakland
21. City of Pacific Grove
22. City of Pacifica
23. City of Palo Alto
24. City and County of San Francisco
25. City of Santa Cruz
26. County of Santa Cruz
27. City of Scotts Valley

Partial Bans (usually prohibits city purchasing, or use by city vendors, contractors, or at city sponsored events)

28. City of Alisio Vejo
29. City of Huntington Beach
30. City of Laguna Woods
31. City of Laguna Hills
32. City of Los Angeles
33. County of Orange
34. City of Pittsburg
35. City of San Clemente
36. County of San Mateo
37. City of San Juan Capistrano
38. City of San Jose
39. County of Sonoma
40. County of Ventura


CITIES THAT MAY CONSIDER BANS:
• City of Fremont
• City of Arcata
• City of Milpitas
• City of El Cerrito
• City of San Pablo
• City of San Jose
• Boston
• Chicago
• New York City


POLYSTYRENE FOOD-WARE BANS OUTSIDE CALIFORNIA

Bans on all Polystyrene Food-Ware

1. Rahway, New Jersey
2. St. Paul, Minnesota

Bans on EPS Food-Ware

3. Issaquah, Washington
4. Seattle, Washington
5. Portland, Oregon
6. Freeport, Maine
7. Westchester, NY

LINKs:

==> Here is a great list that features links to each city's info - either a copy of the actual ordinance or an explanation of that city's ban's specifics - NICE JOB VIV!!

==> The "McToxics" campaign and historical efforts to phase out Styrofoam.

==> In CA one of the PS food serviceware lead groups is Californians Against Waste.

==> Lots of other (older) good info can be found here.

STYROFOAM BAN IN SEASIDE!

This great news is from our Santa Cruz, CA Surfrider activists:

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Oh, yeah!

Remember we told you we posted a "support" letter from the Santa Cruz Chapter to the Seaside Mayor and City Council regarding their intention to discuss and vote on a polystyrene take-out food container ban in the city? Well, we're very pleased to report that the Seaside City Council voted in favor of the ordinance in a unanimous vote at their regular meeting of January 21!

So, this makes it 5 cities in Monterey County who have enacted polystyrene food container take-out bans: Seaside, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Carmel, and Del Ray Oaks. These cities join all 5 jurisdictions in Santa Cruz County, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz County, Capitola, Scotts Valley and Watsonville, that have already established similar bans!

Cool huh? And we're sure the seabirds, seals, and otters all thank all jurisdictions which have taken this important step towards reducing the "plastic plague" which threatens all forms of wildlife, too.

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CIAO Styrofoam - Don't let the door hit you on your way out!