Duarte Studies Foam Container Ban : Fast-Food Packaging Made With Ozone-Depleting Chemicals Targeted

Concerns about the environment and the shortage of landfill space have prompted the city to consider banning plastic foam containers, primarily in fast-food packaging.

Containers made from polystyrene are a familiar sight at fast-food restaurants and in grocery stores. But the substance is non-biodegradable and cannot be recycled as easily as paper.

A more urgent problem, according to Terry Fitzgerald, Duarte’s environmental consultant, is that the most commonly used form of polystyrene is made with chemicals--chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs--that deteriorate ozone in the atmosphere.

The ozone layer protects the Earth from the sun’s ultraviolet rays. A weakened ozone shield would allow more of the radiation to penetrate the atmosphere, creating a potential health hazard and threatening the environment with what is called the “greenhouse effect.”

Within the last year, Berkeley, San Franciso and Los Angeles have banned the use of polystyrene made with CFC, targeting restaurants and take-out restaurants in particular, Fitzgerald wrote in a report to the council. The Los Angeles ban will take effect July 1.

$500 Fines

The Duarte Council last week asked staff to prepare an ordinance similar to the Berkeley law, which went into effect on Sept. 1. That ban could result in $500-a-day fines for violations.

A second Berkeley ordinance, which will take effect in 1990, bans all restaurant use of polystyrene containers, regardless of how they were manufactured.

That law encourages merchants to ensure that at least 50% of their take-out or prepared fast-food packaging be recyclable, and requires that fast-food restaurants provide separate containers for recyclable packages.

“We wanted to see how their ordinance worked, whether merchants were able to get hold of alternatives,” Fitzgerald said.

In the last few years, manufacturers of polystyrene have voluntarily been trying to eliminate the use of CFCs, Fitzgerald said. A new form of polystyrene that recently became available reduces the threat to the ozone layer by 95% and is competitively priced, Fitzgerald said.

Paper Alternative

Turning to paper as another alternative would be more expensive and could raise consumer prices by 5%, Fitzgerald said.

But “in terms of landfill costs, it would be a savings to society,” said Councilman John Fasana, who favors banning all use of polystyrene. A comprehensive ban would also make enforcement easier because it is difficult to determine which form of polystyrene was made with CFC, he said.

Mayor Pro Tem Tery Michaelis, who wants to ban only polystyrene made with CFC, said the Berkeley law “seems a bit restrictive to the fast-food places. I’m a little sensitive about legislating everything.”

Fitzgerald said she is researching the alternatives that might become available.