SB 568 (Lowenthal, 2011-12) - Polystyrene Food Containers

Summary.
SB 568 prohibits food vendors from dispensing cooked food in expanded polystyrene (eps) foam containers.

Position and Status.
CAW Supports.

SB 568 failed to pass the Assembly floor on the last day of session.

It passed from the Senate 21-15 on 6/2/11, from the Assembly Natural Resources Committee 6-3 on 6/27/11, and from the Assembly Appropriations Committee 9-5 on 8/25/11.

Description.
This bill would prohibit the distribution and use of eps foam containers by food vendors for prepared food. It includes definitions for customers, food vendors, polystyrene foam food containers, and prepared food. Food vendors in school districts or local governments with eps recycling programs that meet or exceed a 60% recycling rate are exempt.

SB 568 would reduce the amount of polystyrene foam in the waste stream and environment.

Take Action: Write to your Assembly Member here and urge their support of this bill at the next vote.

Download a sample support letter for your favorite restaurant to send in.


CAW Staff Contacts.
Sue Vang (916) 443-5422

Senator Alan Lowenthal 
State Capitol, Room 2032
Sacramento,  CA  95814

Current Language, Analyses and Votes.

Additional Resources:

Support:

Restaurants/Food Service

Alamo Gelato Italian
AXE Restaurant
Baja Betty’s
Bamboo Asia
Bangkok Noodles
Bar Pink
Big Sur Bakery and Restaurant
Big Sur River Inn Restaurant
Big Sur River Inn Store
Big Sur Roadhouse
Café Blanco
Café Metropol
Center for Tactical Magic
Chan Chan Restaurant
Chan Dara
Classic Organic Farm & Market
DaDa Restaurant 
Deetjens Inn Restaurant
Egg Plantation Restaurant
Estancia Beef
Fernwood Resort and Redwood Grill
Fresh MXN Food
Gelato Vero Cafe
George’s at the Cove (Restaurant)
Global Gourmet Catering
Gossip Grill
Grass Rootz Cafe
Ike’s Quarter Café
Jacques Couture
Jake’s Del Mar
Karl Strauss Brewery Restaurants
KD Foods
Kiku Sushi
Las Pena Cultural Center
Lefty’s Chicago Pizza
Lestat’s on the  Park 
McConnell’s Fine Ice Creams, Inc.
Mediterranean Gourmet Pizza
Modo Cafe
Morgan’s 
Ocean Beach People’s Organic Market
Ocean Beach People's Organic Food Coop
Onyx Organics
Parkhouse Eatery
Passion Fish (Café)
Phil’s Sliders
Power Source Café
Rachos Cocina
Rawvolution Café
Revive Drinks
Rosie Lee’s British Foods
Sierra Mar at Post Ranch Inn (Restaurant)
Stone World Bistro
The Tap Room
The Linkery
Thera Nova, LLC
Turkish Kitchen
Twiggs
Urban Mo’s
Vesta Flatbread
Waterways Consulting
Yoppi Yogurt

Chambers of Commerce (Total businesses represented 3,356)

Berkeley Chamber of Commerce (347 businesses)
Carmel Chamber of Commerce (550 businesses)
Carpinteria Valley Chamber of Commerce (400 businesses)
Fremont Chamber of Commerce (1000 businesses)
Green Chamber of Commerce (151 businesses)
Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce (908 businesses)

Businesses and Business/Green Economy Groups

4LEAF, Inc.
Absolute Wireless Incorporated
Acro Sports
Accu-Logistics LLC
ADEH Environmental
All Stages Marketing
Allen Associates
Alvista America Inc.
Amfect LLC
Andrew Coffing
A.V. Arias & Co.
BACA
Barbara Epstein
Barkley & Associates 
BARS+TONE
Bay Central Printing
Beyond Basics Construction
Be Green Packaging, LLC
Bear Vault Inc.
Big Hearted Films
Big Sur Lodge
Biosphere Industries
Boku International, LLC
Bowman Design Group
Bring it
Brown Custom Woodworking
Bruner Interiors
Busby Biological Services
California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative
CBio, Inc.
Cerebrotech Medical Systems
Chiara
CMC
Complete Real Estate
Concentric Communication
Conservation Value, Inc
Cyber-Infrastructure
Daniel Hofmann Productions
David Clarke Design
David J. Romano
Davis Jeffries, Architect
Diane L Edge DDS
DSE
Eadoc LLC
Eco Greenwares
EcoLayers, Inc.
Earth Cup
Eduardo Hueso
Eileen Siedman
Elemental LED
Emma Stark
ENLUMA
Expansive Health Awareness, Inc.
Eyeball Photography
Fair Ridge Group
Fawn River
Femto Science
FeNa - for everything N anything, LLC
Frances Kalfus, O.M.D., L.A.C
Full Scale Event Productions
Garden Sanctuaries
Gemini Benefits Partner
George Iny Enterprises Inc.
Geyer Lamb
Gold Ring Power, LLC
Gi Paoletti Design Lab
Good Grace's Productions LLC
Greenleaf Project Management
Grant Foerster Fine Pruning & Plant Care
Green Fuse Energy
Green Station
GWC
Habitat Engineering & Forensics
Hale House
Harmony healing
Harmony Organic Gardens
House Earth
Howerton Construction, Inc.
Hugh Salamon
Hunter-Gatherer Artifacts
Imageworks
Imani Lee, Inc.
Infinite Functions, Inc.
Inn of the Seventh Ray
Inner Gardens
Institute for Local Self-Reliance 
Instant Imprints
Integrated Resource Management, Inc.
John Kelley, AIA Architect
Judy Schriebman
Just Transition Alliance
Kahl Consultants
Kleine Editorial Services
Kuuki Biotechnology LLC
LA ProPoint, Inc. Lamebrane Records 
Lam Bentz Vineyard, LLC
Larry Chinn
Laughing Star Designs
LB Designs
Leane Eberhart
Learning Fundamentals
Left Coast Instruments, Inc.
Leikam Enterprises, LLC
Life Settlement Financial
Linden Appraisal Services
Lindon Schultz Architect/Engineer
Lindsey Vaillancourt
Little Footprint Lighting
LMA
Lotus Crafts
Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE)
Louis h. Felthouse Architect Inc.
Lundco electric
M. E. Sawyer Company
Machado Fitness & Self Defense Training
Marcy Wong Donn Logan Architects
MARI-FLITE Ferries, Inc.
Marianna Mejia
Marstel-Day, LLC
Mary's Green and Clean Handcrafted Soaps
McVay & Co. Builders
MD Resource Corporation
Metabo Scientia
Mineta San Jose International Airport (Airport Environmental)
Mohave Power Co. Inc
Mondo Life, Inc.
Moving Picture Weddings
Music Interactive
Native Designs
Natural Cleaning Products USA
Oakhurst Technology
Ocean Conservation Society
Ocean Innovations
Octy, Inc
Pacific Builders
Pacific Ink, Inc.
Pacific Latex Products / Malgam Ent. Inc
Parallel Interactive Communications
Party Lite candles / Candlescaping by Paula
Patricia Owen
Philip Auerbach
Pinnacle Installations, Inc.
Polyglot Ltd.
Pool Dan
Precision Powder Coatings
Premium Roofing & Waterproofing
Prima Collections
Pundir Group, Inc
Quality Piano Tuning
Redpoint Engineering
Renewable Energy Consultant
Richards & Sterling
Ripplewood Resort
Robert Cronin
Rosales Business Partners LLC
RV-ID, Inc.
Santa Cruz Fire Equipment Company
Save The Whales
SCOPE*TEK
Scott Johnson Consulting
Seat Advisor
Sfnewsfeed.us
Shaktiart
Shen Wei (USA) Inc.
Sherpali
Sierra Solar Systems
Sierra Wealth Advisors
Silent Tribunal LLC
Slatter Construction, Inc.
Solar Wind Works
Solectric Electric
Sound Service Company
Spottswoode Winery, Inc.
Starlight Productions
Starlight School
State Farm-Julie Cook, agent
Stein Neurology
Steve Nice Consulting
Sue White 
Suisun Creek Vineyards
Susanne Moser Research & Consulting
SWERVE
TaterWare
The Valley Women’s Club
Tegrus Builders Inc.
The Added Edge, Inc.
The MacPete Law Firm
The Rosebud Agency
The Soul Mine
The Tucker Schoeman Venture (architects)
Thrive Eco Solutions Inc
Tierra Sol y Mar, Inc.
Tim  Brophy Construction
Tim Devine Musical Services
Timesmithing
Tom Sawyer Software
Treehouse Design Partnership
TSA Contracting, Inc.
UCSD
United States Green Building Council (California Advocacy Committee)
V8 Media
Vicki L. Cyr, C.P.A.
Victoria M. Armigo, EA
Vigitron
VIVA Transcription Corporation
Viv Biz Club
White Wolf Journeys
William Mariner, D.C.
Work It Out, Inc.
Write to the Heart
World Centric
Zone One Pharmacy

Neighborhood Councils and Associations (Total population represented 755,550)

Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council (represents 25,355 people)
Greater Griffith Park Neighborhood Council (represents 37, 236 people)
Mar Vista Community Council (represents 55,000 people)
North Hills East Neighborhood Council (represents 29,250 people) 
North Hollywood North East Neighborhood Council (represents 12,000 people)
Palms Neighborhood Council (represents over 30,000 people)
Reseda Neighborhood Council (represents 66,575 people)
San Fernando Valley Young Democrats
Silver Lake Neighborhood Council (represents 34,675 people)
South Robertson Neighborhood Council (represents 45,000 people)
Sun Valley Area Neighborhood Council (represents 81,788 people)
Tarzana Neighborhood Council (represents 37,778 people)
United Neighborhoods Neighborhood Council (represents 70,472 people)
Van Nuys Neighborhood Council (represents 110,747 people)
Venice Neighborhood Council (represents 40,885 people )
West Los Angeles Neighborhood Council (represents 30,873 people)
Westwood Neighborhood Council (represents 47,916 people)

Local Government (Total population represented 8,934,746)

City of Arcata
City of Belmont (population 24,918)
City of Calabasas (population 23,058)
City of Capitola (population 9,781)
City of Carpinteria (population 13,040)
City of Culver City (population 38,883)
City of Encinitas (population 59,518)
City of Glendale (population 191,719)
City of Long Beach (population 462,257)
City of Los Angles (population 3,800,000)
City of Manhattan Beach (population 35,135)
City of Millbrae (population 21,257)
City of Monterey (population 27,810)
City of Oakland (population 390,724)
City of Palo Alto (population 61,200)
City of Pasadena (population 137,122)
City of Richmond (population 103,166)
City of San Clemente (population 61,610)
City of Santa Cruz (population 59,946)
City of Santa Monica (population 87,563)
City of Sebastopol (population 7,379)
City of Ventura (population 110,813)
City of West Hollywood (population 34,399)
City and County of San Francisco (population 815,358)
County of Los Angeles (unincorporated population 1,000,000 +)
County of Monterey (unincorporated population 158,561)
County of Santa Clara (unincorporated population 900,000) 
County of Santa Cruz (unincorporated population 129,161)
County of Sonoma (unincorporated population 146,238) 
Town of Fairfax (population 7,099)

Sanitation Districts, Refuse Workers, Recyclers and Composters

California Refuse Recycling Council (CRRC)
California Resource Recovery Association
East Bay Municipal Utility District
Central Contra Costa Solid Waste Authority
Los Angeles County Solid Waste Management Committee / Integrated Waste Management Task Force
Marin County Hazardous and Solid Waste Management Joint Powers Authority
Marin Sanitary Service
Monterey Regional Waste Management District
Napa Recycling and Waste Services
Recology
Salinas Valley Solid Waste Authority
Santa Clara Valley Water District
Solid Waste Association of North America, California Chapters (SWANA)
Sonoma County Waste Management Agency
StopWaste.Org (Alameda County Waste Management Authority)
Waste Connections Inc.

Environmental Justice/ Health and Worker Safety

Black Women for Wellness
Breast Cancer Fund
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
Environmental Justice Coalition for Water
Great Beginnings for Black Babies, Inc. 
Orange County Interfaith Coalition for the Environment
Pacoima Beautiful
Physicians for Social Responsibility Los Angeles
Worksafe, Inc

Environmental and Ocean Conservation Groups

Ballona Creek Renaissance
Beach Erosion Authority for Clean Oceans and Nourishment (BEACON)
Board of the Sonoma County Regional Climate Protection Authority
California Coastkeeper Alliance
California Coastal Coalition
California Coastal Commission
California League of Conservation Voters
Californians Against Waste
Defenders of Wildlife
Earth Resource Foundation
Ecology Action
Endangered Habitats League
Environment California
Environmental Working Group
Heal the Bay
Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust
Malibu Surfing Association
Natural Resources Defense Council
O’Neill Sea Odyssey
Planning and Conservation League
San Diego Coastkeeper
Save the Bay
Save Our Shores
Sea Turtle Restoration Project
Seventh Generation Advisors
Sierra Club California
Sustainable Earth Initiative
Teens Turning Green
The Plastic Pollution Coalition
The Watershed Project
Trashbusters USA

Labor Organizations

California Federation of Teachers (CFT)
California Teamsters Public Affairs Council

Schools and School Workers

Cabrillo College
California School Nutrition Association
Sacramento Unified School District, Superintendent

Opposition:

Alliance of Foam Packaging Recyclers
American Chemistry Council
Black Business and Professional Association
Brawley Chamber of Commerce
California Chamber of Commerce
California Film Extruders and Converters Association
California Forestry Association
California Grocers Association
California Manufacturers and Technology Association
California Restaurant Association
Chambers Alliance of Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties
City of Lodi
Dart Container Corporation
El Centro Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau
El Monte/South El Monte Chamber of Commerce
Food Service Packaging Institute
Fullerton Chamber of Commerce
Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce
Greater Corona Chamber of Commerce
Greater Fresno Area Chamber of Commerce
Industrial Environmental Association
Irvine Chamber of Commerce
Lake Elsinore Valley Chamber of Commerce
Lemoore Chamber of Commerce
Long Beach Chamber of Commerce
Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce
Los Angeles County Business Federation
Manhattan Beach Chamber of Commerce
Monterey Park Chamber of Commerce
Murrieta Chamber of Commerce
National Federation of Independent Business
Natural Environmental Protection Company
Oxnard Chamber of Commerce
Pactiv Corporation
Rendondo Beach Chamber of Commerce
Regional Black Chamber, San Fernando Valley
Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce
Seawright Custom Precast, Inc.
Society of the Plastics Industry
South Bay Association of Chambers of Commerce
Southwest California Legislative Council
Stockton Chamber of Commerce
Temecula Valley Chamber of Commerce
The Dardanelle Group
Valley Industry and Commerce Association
Wildomar Chamber of Commerce
72 individuals