SAN DIEGO — Styrofoam food containers will now be a thing of the past in San Diego for those who like to take their meals' to go' from restaurants.
On Tuesday, the city council voted seven-to-one to approve an ordinance banning all single-use polystyrene foam food containers, utensils, coolers and pool toys effective next year, pointing to the environmental harm it causes. San Diego's ban goes into effect in April 2023.
San Diego City Council initially passed this ban in January 2019.
That ban was held for nearly four years because of litigation by restaurants and companies producing foam containers. Now resolved, city leaders appear poised to finally ban Styrofoam.
"It's time to say enough is enough," said council member Joe LaCava, who voed in favor of the ban. "We know it's a problem."
It's a move that 130 other jurisdictions throughout the state have already made, including Carlsbad, Encinitas, Del Mar, and Imperial Beach: banning products made from Styrofoam, including food containers, egg cartons, cooler, and pool toys.
Supporters of the ban said that because Styrofoam is not bio-degradable and instead breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces, it easily pollutes local waterways and poisons marine life, entering the food chain.
"We know that there is plastic in our food, our bodies, and most recently found in breast milk and fetal tissue," said Alex Ferron of the Surfriders Foundation. "Polystyrene foam is a plastic in a form that is the most capable of traveling through our environment and becoming unmanageable and unrecoverable."
The new law also makes it illegal for restaurants and food delivery services to hand out plastic utensils or straws unless specifically requested by the customer.
Under the ban, smaller businesses will have a 12-month grace period, making under $500,000 a year to comply.
"We would probably use plastic or paper," said Huey Luna, who works at L&L Hawaiian Barbecue in Barrio Logan. He doesn't believe the switchover will be exceedingly expensive.
"I think other options are similar in cost or even cheaper," he added.
Proponents of this ban were hoping to delay a new vote by the city council, even after the years-long delay already in effect.
Speaking at last month's Environment Committee meeting, an industry representative pointed out that his clients have hired scientists to analyze the potential public health impacts of a Styrofoam ban.
"We would like the full city council to hear this in January of 2023 to have the advantage of this public health analysis that we're preparing," he said.
The ban will go into effect in April 2023.
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