The City of Culver City banned the use of Polystyrene foodware on May 8, effective Nov.8, 2017, becoming the 108th city in California to adopt the citywide ordinance.
The ban will prohibit the sale of Polystyrene foam and solid items (straws, cutlery, coffee cup lids, etc). Exemptions are made for egg cartons, meat trays used for the sale of unprepared food, food prepared outside of Culver City, and foam packing materials used in shipping containers. Establishments providing takeout food are required to ask customers if they would like cutlery included with their order.
“One of the primary examples of the amount of Styrofoam waste can be found in Ballona Creek,” said Mayor Jeffrey Cooper in a statement. “Trash and other hazards, such as Styrofoam containers and cups, have entered Ballona Creek, breaking down into dangerously small particles, which pollutes the water that flows directly to the Pacific Ocean,” added Mayor Cooper. The City Council went even further in its efforts to prevent all types of trash that ends up in Ballona Creek by installing waste and recycling receptacles along the Creek bike path, as well as key areas within the Ballona Creek Watershed.
It was the Ballona Creek Renaissance (BCR) nonprofit organization that took the proposal for the ban to the City Council Sustainability Subcommittee on May 8, furthering its mission to improve Ballona Creek and the community’s use of it.
Kim Braun, the City of Culver City’s environmental programs and operations manager, said that the adoption of the ordinance received 5-0 vote by the city council
Over the next six months up to the date that the ban becomes effective, the city will be conducting workshops with food providers in order to make the transition as seamless as possible. The first one will take place on Wednesday, June 28 at 9 a.m. in the Mike Balkman Councils Chambers in City Hall.
Braun said that future workshops will address such matters as the parameters of the ordinance, and how and where to purchase alternatives to Polystyrene.
For more information, go to culvercity.org/polystyreneban.