Pasadena Styrofoam Ban Considered Tuesday by City Committee

An environmental campaign that many Pasadena residents and organizations have been waging for years is heading for a showdown Tuesday as the City Council’s Municipal Services Committee considers a ban on certain uses of polystyrene — often referred to generically as “styrofoam” — in the city.

The Committee will consider recommending a draft ordinance that would prohibit the “distribution or sale of prepared food or beverages in any polystyrene food service ware.”

If recommended, the draft ordinance would go before the full City Council meeting on May 9.

On Tuesday, the Municipal Services Committee is expected to discuss in detail the provisions of the proposed ordinance and receive the results of surveys conducted by the Public Works Department, as well as input from the city’s Department of Public Health.

If adopted, the ordinance, to be known as the Polystyrene Food Packaging Ordinance, wouldl “regulate the use of polystyrene food packaging in order to reduce and prevent the presence of this type of litter in Pasadena’s unique environment and promote environmentally sustainable practices in the City.”

The ordinance would apply to grocery stores, restaurants, farmer’s markets, convenience stores, food vendors, caterers, food trucks, groups or individuals that provide prepared food to the general public.

It would also apply to city facilities, operations, events and meetings, and all retailers selling food packaging.

The draft also includes exemptions from the ban for food prepared or packaged outside of the City, coolers or ice chests wholly encapsulated with durable material, food brought to city facilities by individuals for personal consumption, emergency supplies and services, and food providers obligated to purchase or have purchased polystyrene food service ware under contract within a year prior to the ordinance.

The ordinance would not apply to uncooked meat, poultry, fish, eggs and fresh produce, according to the draft.

The draft ordinance says food providers and retailers wouldl have 12 months from the effective date to comply. City facilities, operations, events and meetings are obligated to comply immediately upon the effective date of the ordinance.

The city’s Department of Public Works in December presented the draft ordinance to the Committee in December 2015 after consultations with a stakeholder working group.

Since that time, and upon the committee’s direction, Public Works staff have been studying the ordinance’s potential impact on local businesses, as well as cost implications on food products once an alternative to polystyrene packaging is adopted.

More information about the results of their study will be presented at the committee meeting.

The Municipal Services Committee meeting starts at 3:30 p.m. at the City Council Chambers at City Hall, 175 N. Garfield Avenue in Pasadena.