Help Hermosa Beach Ban Styrofoam

by Jessica Belsky · 2011-10-20 08:16:00 UTC
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If you’ve ever helped out at a beach cleanup, you’ve seen how pervasive Styrofoam is in the coastal environment. The material is lightweight and it floats, which means it very easily makes its way from land to the beach and into the ocean, where .it’s commonly ingested my marine animals who mistake the small particles for food. Not only is eating Styrofoam toxic to marine critters, these animals sometimes end up feeding the plastic pieces to their babies.

Styrofoam, or polystyrene, is particularly difficult to recycle and it never biodegrades. Styrene, a component of Styrofoam containers, is suspected to cause cancer by the National Toxicology Program. When heated to a high degree, the chemical can leach out of the container and into food.

But despite the obvious hazards Styrofoam poses to the environment and human health, due to its relative cheapness and convenience, it’s still often used in takeout food containers.

For all of these reasons, Brian Schoening decided to start a petition on Change.org urging the City of Hermosa Beach, California to ban Styrofoam takeout containers. He also urged Hermosa Beach diners to ask their favorite restaurants to transition to alternative products. In California, nearly 60 municipalities already have some kind of polystyrene ban in place.

To help the city go green, the Hermosa Beach Green Task Force was appointed by the city to give expert recommendations on reaching sustainability goals. As part of this task force, Schoening has worked to rid Hermosa Beach of ubiquitous Styrofoam litter.

California’s ailing economy depends on the beach. It’s time to protect our health, our beach, and marine ecosystems. There are plenty of safer packaging alternatives to polysterene. Instead of Styrofoam, we could be supporting the burgeoning sustainable packaging industry.

The issue will be discussed at the upcoming Hermosa Beach City Council meeting next Tuesday, October 25th. By signing Brian Schoening's petition, you have a chance to let the Council know that you want an end to Styrofoam in Hermosa Beach. The petition will be presented to the Council at the meeting.

If you live in the Hermosa Beach area, you can take things one step further: Come out to City Hall (1315 Valley Drive) on Tuesday, October 25th at 7pm for the next Council meeting and voice your opinion in person as well as through the online petition.

Photo credit: waferboard via Flickr

 

 

Jessica Belsky is a freelance writer and communications manager at an environmental non-profit.

RELATED PETITION

Hermosa Beach City Council: Ban Styrofoam Take-Out Containers!
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