Santa Clara county commission recommends polystyrene ban
On Monday, the Santa Clara County Recycling and Waste Reduction Commission unanimously recommended that the county and its cities ban expanded polystyrene food ware by July 2012. The 10-member commission serves as the principal advisory body to city and town councils and the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors on countywide solid waste planning issues. Several restaurants wrote letters to the commission opposing the ban and the CRA testified at the commission meeting. Information about RWRC is available at www.ReduceWaste.org.
The City of Palo Alto is the only city in the county that has a current ban in place and other cities may follow. Restaurants, caterers, delis and other food providers will see their operating costs rise as polystyrene containers are two to three times more affordable than replacement products, which in some cases don’t perform as well, especially for very hot or cold food and beverages. The City of San Jose is considering a polystyrene ban and a series of public meetings are underway.
For more information, contact Amalia Chamorro, CRA director of local government affairs, at 408.416.6344 or achamorro@calrest.org.