TITLE
Recommendation to request City Manager to report to the City Council within 45-60 days, the budget considerations and feasibility of eliminating the use of Styrofoam food packaging from our City Hall cafeteria, municipal facilities, and City sponsored events.
DISCUSSION
As Long Beach moves towards becoming a more sustainable city, it is important that we set a positive example to our community and city employees. The city already has a progressive recycling program that is available to our residents and in public facilities. However, at our own City Hall cafeteria, we use Styrofoam (polystyrene foam) products to package and serve food. Many of our other city facilities also use Styrofoam products. As we are all aware, Styrofoam is non-degradable and non-recyclable, and poses a problem for any environmentally responsible waste management program. It is estimated that one Styrofoam container that is used today will still remain in our landfills approximately 500 years from now. Our own beaches and waterways are often covered in Styrofoam trash and debris, which make it difficult for our city staff and citizen volunteers to keep the beaches litter free. As we work towards preserving our local environment, it is important for us to eliminate the use of Styrofoam food packaging from our cafeteria, other city
departments, and city events. Other cities that have passed similar measures include Huntington Beach, Laguna Hills, San Juan Capistrano, and San Clemente. Reducing our use of Styrofoam would bring us one step closer to becoming a sustainable city and would set an important example to our local businesses.
SUGGESTED ACTION
Approve recommendation.
Respectfully Submitted,
COUNCILMEMBER FRANK COLONNA
THIRD DISTRICT