Cities Look to Malibu as Leader in Effort to Ban Foam

Photo credit, MSN/Hans Laetz

TAKEOUT TABLEWARE—City environmental programs coordinator Jennifer Voccola looks at recyclable, disposable takeout dishes served by a Malibu sandwich shop. The paper plate is made of cotton and the plastic cup is a type of modified corn starch, both are not only recyclable but are also biodegradable.

BY HANS LAETZ

When the Malibu City Council banned foam carry-out containers and cups last year, more than a few eyes rolled in nearby cities, and in the restaurant trade. The groundbreaking ban was viewed by food industry experts, and some local shopkeepers, as impractical.

But now, as Malibu takes its first belated steps toward enforcing the ban, the groundbreaking rules are being looked at by other nearby cities. Santa Monica and Calabasas are among the municipalities around the country that have begun the steps to ban the familiar white, Styrofoam-like containers.

A shortage of staff has kept Malibu from enforcing the ordinance until now, said Jennifer Voccola, the Public Works Department’s environmental programs coordinator. Letters will be going out soon, she said, telling business owners that the time to comply is on the next order of disposable items.

But that’s not soon enough for one small business owner, who complains that the city’s ordinance is being obeyed by small locally-owned stores but is ignored by large chain operations. Diana Nielsen, owner of Malibu Yogurt, says she spent about $30,000 over 12 months to comply with the law.

“I complied immediately because that’s what you do,” she said. “So did Malibu Seafood, Coogie’s and that wonderful little Malibu Mutt hot dog stand.

“But if you go to McDonald’s, you get foam. At Ralph’s, if you buy a soda from the deli, foam. At Subway, the drinks are in foam,” she said. “Malibu is being horribly unfair.”

Voccola said the lack of staff to enforce the ordinance will be a nonissue once outside contractors, who currently conduct annual stormwater runoff inspections, are trained to also enforce the anti-foam ordinance.

“We’ll start with the letter, and tell people they have to start complying, but we’ll hold off until they do their next buying cycle,” she said. Voccola said city staff wants to work cooperatively with businesses and the Chamber of Commerce to create an entire green-oriented plan for businesses.

Down the beach in Santa Monica, the city council is looking at enacting Malibu’s ban, with an eye to extending it to cover all non-recyclable, disposable goods.

“We were looking at the City of Malibu’s ordinance, and when I saw that we were falling behind in Santa Monica, I said, ‘Let’s look at what’s happening up in Malibu’,” said Santa Monica City Councilman Kevin McKeown, who authored the bay city’s ordinance.

“At first, we got resistance from all the predicable places. But now the businesses are talking to their suppliers, and seeing there are practical, cost-effective alternatives,” he said. “Now, the only people who are opposed are the people who manufacture the foam products themselves.”

Calabasas is also looking at a similar ordinance. Voccola has been asked to address the city council there to explain Malibu’s successes—and delays—in banning the foam cups and boxes.

Even facilities owned by the City of Malibu are being placed under scrutiny, including the tiny snack shack at the Bluffs Park little league field. Councilmember Pamela Conley Ulich asked city parks director Robert Stallings to ensure that no Styrofoam-style cups are used at the “sugar shack.”

The ordinance took effect 15 months ago, and those companies that applied for an emergency exemption saw their official permission to continue using foam expire three months ago, Voccola said. “The time has come for the rules to be enforced.”