Is Pacifica City Council Finally Ready to Ban Polystyrene (Styrofoam) Food Containers?
BY BILL COLLINS RIPTIDE CORRESPONDENT Last year, Pacifica City Council got ahead of itself in considering an ordinance to ban food containers made from polystyrene, the synthetic “foam” known by its trade name Styrofoam, which never biodegrades into the soil. The council hadn’t worked with restaurants to explain the why and the how of the ordinance, as did our neighboring cities Millbrae and South San Francisco, which already have banned poly containers. Now the vetting has happened, and on Monday, September 14, our City Council again is getting ready to address a source of litter in Pacifica’s streets, creeks, beaches, and ocean. The problem is that there’s now talk of a voluntary “ban” on polystyrene. Use or nonuse of polystyrene is already voluntary. Many responsible merchants who listened to their customers stopped using it, or have never used it, preferring paper-based alternatives. A majority of the council already has individually expressed support for a ban, and no member has s
