Styrofoam Ban Discussion Postponed

Hermosa Beach residents will have the chance to weigh in on whether Styrofoam food takeout containers should be banned locally in a City Council meeting on Oct. 25.

A discussion on the item , but City Manager Steve Burrell told the council that he didn’t feel there was enough information from a staff perspective to move forward with the discussion and possible ban of polystyrene, an oil-based plastic commonly known as Styrofoam. 

So the public hearing and vote was pushed back two meetings.

Members of the  and other concerned residents were at Tuesday's meeting to support the ban.

"It’s embarrassing that we don’t implement something very simple and very easy. [Styrofoam] doesn’t belong in our lives anymore and it doesn’t belong in our planet," said Hermosa Beach resident Dency Nelson.

Nelson said that more than 50 California cities had passed Styrofoam bans, including Santa Monica, neighboring Manhattan Beach, and Malibu.

He presented to the council a cheap, potato paste-based substitute container that Hermosa restaurants could use in lieu of Styrofoam.

Nelson’s remarks were met by applause, and each successive community member speaking on polystyrene received an additional ovation.

Some residents who addressed the council said that they were worried about an alleged potential influence of lobbyists on the council.

"You’re here to do the work for our community… not the lobbyists sitting here behind us, not the special interests from the plastic industry," said Hermosa Beach resident Jose Bacallao.

Bacallao, who's a staff member of Heal the Bay, pointed out with frustration that Styrofoam cups were in the lobby, saying that it’s "ridiculous that they are here."

Green Task Force member Lisa Ryder told the council that she’s "sad to see that there was more of an influence from the plastics lobby than our citizens."

Ryder added that the possible prohibition of Styrofoam containers was symbolic in nature because many restaurants in Hermosa Beach already use non-polystyrene containers and those that don’t are open to the change.

The Hermosa Beach Green Task Force  that the City Council adopt a citywide ban on the distribution of Styrofoam food containers in restaurants.

Polystyrene has become a controversial substance, because as many residents at the meeting said, Styrofoam is rarely recycled and makes up a large portion of the trash found on the local beach. 

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has considered some components of polystyrene to be biologically toxic, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer material has classified the material as a potential human carcinogen.

This isn’t the first time the city has backed off of a polystyrene ban—on May 10  with the ban recommended by the Green Task force and instead focused on educating residents and restaurants about polystyrene and the dangers it poses.

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