Capitola Passes Ban on Styrofoam Food Packaging

By Michael Thomas

If you order coffee to go in Capitola, it had better be served in a paper cup. Capitola City Council members have passed an ordinance aimed at reducing the use of Styrofoam cups and other food packaging that creates non-biodegradable waste. The new ordinance strengthens a Council resolution from 1989 that encouraged restaurants to voluntarily give up plastics and polystyrene foam, which is commonly known by the brand name Styrofoam.

Styrofoam adds long-lasting bulk to landfills, poses hazards to terrestrial and ocean wildlife, and has been shown to leave traces of styrene in humans.

The new ordinance requires restaurant and market operators to switch to an alternative if it is available and affordable. It also requires the use of biodegradable or compostable plastics.
Councilmember Kirby Nicol objected to the ban, saying it's unfair to burden local establishments when a broader solution is needed.

"If you say it's bad and we need to get rid of it, we need to do it universally," Nicol said.
He said he recently got a big screen TV packaged with slabs of Styrofoam as big as a desk.
"You could jump on a piece of that and float out into the ocean," he said.

He believes it would be unfair to burden small businesses with a regulation that doesn't impact such uses. Restaurant owners voiced broad opposition to the new restrictions.

Mayor Michael Termini supported the Styrofoam ban but believes there are weak points in the ordinance. He said compostable plastics might not be ready for widespread use.

"The starch forks tend to melt in hot coffee," Termini said. "It's pretty onerous considering there aren't a lot of products around and they are expensive."

He said the ordinance also lets businesses off the hook if Styrofoam is even a penny cheaper. In fact, it is often half the price of paper products.

"I wanted to see something on the books that had the heading of a Styrofoam ban," Termini added. "We can give it more teeth in another year."