The Pacific Grove City Council has voted unanimously to ban foamed polystyrene takeout food containers, joining a number of California cities that have done so in the past year.

Kevin Howe of the Monterey County Herald writes that it had already been policy to not use polystyrene in city facilities:

Polystyrene foam "is highly durable, persisting longer than any type of litter," City Manager Jim Colangelo said in a report to the council. It is lightweight, and its tendency to break into tiny pieces causes it to float or be blown into the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, where birds and other animals eat it, often with fatal results.  Biodegradeable takeout packaging made of paper, sugarcane, corn by-products and potato starch is available locally, Colangelo said, and the council made it city policy in 1989 to not purchase or use polystyrene if biodegradeable alternatives are available.

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CAW and Polystyrene Litter Pollution:

• CAW has supported many local communities that have banned foamed polystyrene takeout food packaging.
• CAW is sponsoring AB 904 (Feuer), which would require that all takeout packaging by made from recyclable or compostable materials. 

A motion to draft an ordinance that will decrease plastic bag distribution and littering--possibly through a plastic bag ban and a fee on paper bags--passed a San Jose City Council Committee this week.  Stephen Baxter of the San Jose Mercury News writes that after ten years of unsuccessfully trying to recycling plastic bags in their curbside programs, the City may be ready for a ban:

City environmental services officials said on May 5 that San Jose's trash contractors have struggled to clean used plastic bags and to find steady buyers for recycled bags since curbside plastic collection began 10 years ago. With a lack of buyers, they said that half of bags collected for recycling in the city end up in landfills, and the ones that are recycled often are chugged to Asian buyers by diesel ship.

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CAW and Plastic Bags:

• CAW supports the San Jose ordinance and is sponsoring AB 2058 (Levine), which would require retailers to divert 70% of plastic bags by 2011 or be forced to charge a 25 cent fee on plastic.
• More about Plastic Bags

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is proposing the possibilty of making recycling mandatory in the city. This follows news that the city had attained a 70% solid waste diversion rate which ranks as one of the highest in the nation. A New York Times article details San Fancisco's aggressive waste reduction and recycling programs, which includes a residential green waste composting infrastructure.

Mayor Newsom feels that mandatory recycling is the only way for the city to achieve %75 waste diversion.

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What CAW is doing to increase residential recycling opportunities statewide>>>

AB 2058 (Levine) would require California retailers to demonstrate a 70% plastic bag recycling level by 2011 if they wish to continue freely distributing bags.

If the 70% recycling level is not met, retailers would be required to charge a 25 cent per-bag fee. The law also grants local governments increased authority to charge additional fees.

In order to ensure that AB 2058 will not substitute one type of disposable bag with another, AB 2058 would require retailers to charge an equal fee on paper bags by 2011.

AB 2058 must get out of Assembly Appropriations before it can be voted on by the full Assembly.

Additional Information:

• AB 2058 Language
• More About Plastic Bags