Environmental Groups Wage War on Plastic Foam Packaging : Waste: The effort comes as a North County organization faces what could be the end of its curbside recycling.

Two environmental groups are stepping up the war against plastic foam packaging by organizing a citizens’ campaign to replace polystyrene products with biodegradable paper alternatives.

Solana Recyclers and the North County Coastal Greens will hold a public meeting at 7 p.m. today at Solana Beach Presbyterian Church to launch a campaign in Del Mar, Encinitas and Solana Beach to educate businesses about the health and environmental hazards of polystyrene and other plastic foam packaging.

In a related environmental issue, curbside recycling collection in North County appears in jeopardy.

The Encinitas Community Advisory Board voted 4 to 1 Monday to deny Solana Recyclers’ request for a permit to continue operating at its present site and to expand its plant capacity nearly fourfold.

Solana Recyclers, the area’s only curbside recycling collector, charges 55 cents a month to 27,000 housing units, or 60% of all households in Solana Beach, Encinitas and Del Mar, said Brooke Nash, executive director of Solana Recyclers.

the Encinitas City Council in 1987 assisted the company in arranging to lease a quarter acre owned by the county at 135 N. El Camino Real, Nash said. The site’s zoning allows a mixture of commercial, residential and public works facilities. The county staff already approved the company’s expansion. Three residents opposed the permit request.

“This vote was unexpected,” Nash said. “We were shocked. If it is upheld, we’ll have to shut down. There won’t be any curbside collection in the area.”

The Community Advisory Board’s recommendation goes before the city’s Planning Commission in September. On appeal, the City Council has final say. The recycling company will appeal the recommendation, Nash said.

Meanwhile, the anti-polystyrene campaign will continue. Its goal is to persuade restaurants, markets, vendors, delicatessens and other takeout food establishments to use paper packaging products instead of polystyrene food packaging and containers for items such as egg cartons, meat trays, coffee cups and fast food.

Polystyrene foam packaging is chemically synthesized from petroleum, producing hazardous waste byproducts. The North County Coastal Greens is a chapter of a national anti-nuclear, ecology movement. Solana Recyclers is a nonprofit organization founded in 1983.

Leading the campaign will be Solana Recyclers’ block leaders, who have helped persuade 60% of residents in Del Mar, Encinitas and Solana Beach to participate in the group’s curbside recycling program.

Restaurants and other users of plastic foam packages have been reluctant to switch to paper products because of expected cost increases, but substituting paper products would not substantially raise expenses, Nash said.

Nash cited the increasing number of fast-food restaurant chains that are switching to paper-product containers as evidence that the changeover is economically feasible.

“It would cost only a few pennies more (per customer purchase),” Nash said. “I think if you ask people whether they would spend an extra nickel, they would say yes.”

Cris Weatherby, a recycling block leader, said many restaurant owners mistakenly believe some plastic foam packaging products are environmentally safe.

“I’ve encountered only resistance to switching, so I think the main goal is educate them and show them there are alternatives,” Weatherby said.

Organizers plan to solicit contributions and services from businesses to print informational brochures and lists of alternative paper-packaging products. The brochures will be given to restaurants, bars, markets and other food and beverage merchants.

Consumers will be encouraged to ask merchants to switch to paper products or lose their patronage.

Nash said this would not be a direct boycott of businesses that refused to stop using polystyrene, but she said boycotts are a possibility.

She called the campaign a “positive appeal to make the right environmental choice” and said businesses that cooperate will receive some sort of certificate or window decal to display.

The campaign will rely on environmentally conscious residents selling their neighbors and local restaurants and markets on using paper products, which are biodegradable and renewable, said Patricia Grimes, community outreach coordinator for Solana Recyclers.

“We have to get away from the throwaway mentality, that there is an endless supply of resources,” Grimes said. “It’s hard to do, but we need to get people to change their habits.”

Nash said the campaign plans to take advantage of what she described as the public’s growing concern about the ecology. She cited UC San Diego’s decision last year to ban polystyrene and other forms of plastic packaging on campus.

“I think public interest is up, and that businesses are hearing consumers’ concerns about the environment,” Nash said. “Consumers have unlimited power with their buying practices, and they can band together to influence businesses and the manufacturers of plastic products.”

Organizers said the campaign will be modeled on similar ventures that have succeeded in Berkeley and other communities.