CC 2016-01-26_12a Supplemental Info. No. 1MEMORANDUM
TO: CITY COUNCIL
FROM: TERESA McCLISH, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
SUBJECT: SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
AGENDA ITEM 12.a.-JANUARY 26, 2016 CITY COUNCIL MEETING:
CONSIDERATION OF AN ORDINANCE REGULATING EXPANDED
POLYSTYRENE FOOD CONTAINERS AND PRODUCTS; LOCATION -
CITYWIDE; APPLICANT -CITY OF ARROYO GRANDE
DATE: JANUARY 25,2016
Attached is correspondence received regarding the above-referenced agenda item.
cc: City Manager
City Attorney
City Clerk
Public Review Binder
January 24, 2016
RECEIVED
JAN 2 6 2016
Arroyo Grande City Council
215 E. Branch Street
Arroyo Grande, CA 93420
CITY OF ARROYO GRANDE .
RE: Support of Regulating Expanded Polystyrene
Agenda Item: 12. a.
Dear Arroyo Grande City Council Members,
The Morro Coast Audubon Society, MCAS, appreciates this opportunity to provide comments
regarding the use of polystyrene in the City of Arroyo Grande.
MCAS urges you to adopt the strongest ordinance possible to regulate the use of expanded
polystyrene in your city. We ask that you join San Luis Obispo, Pismo Beach, and Morro Bay to
ban this non-biodegradable product that is harmful to the environment, detrimental to the
economy, and is hazardous to public hec:~lth. .
Polystyrene is made from petroleum, a non-sustainable, non-renewable, heavily polluting
commodity. The environmental impacts of polystyrene production increases green-house gas
emissions contributing to climate change. The Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, has
named the polystyrene manufacturing process as the fifth largest creator of hazardous waste in
the United States.
We believe the action you take to regulate polystyrene foam is supported by your city's long
range plan to reduce green-house gasses from city government operations and community
activities, and to achieve the community goal of improving public health and quality of life.
The major probh~m with polystyrene is that it is not biodegradable, compostable, or in SLO
County recyclable. Rather, polystyrene slowly photodegrades-breaking down under exposure
to the sun's ultraviolet rays-into smaller and smaller pieces that never go away. Once these
small plastic pieces enter the marine environment, and continue to photodegrade, marine life
mistakes them for food often with fatal results.
Marine plastic pollution has impacted at least 267 species worldwide including 86% of all sea
turtles; 44% of all seabirds; and 43% of all marine mammal species. Marine life from shellfish to
P.O. BOX 1507 MORRO BAY, CA 93443 805-772-1991
www.rnorrocoastaudubon.org
whales can ingest these small polystyrene resin spheres. This can displace space in the animal's
stomach, or block their digestive track, causing death due to starvation. These photodegraded
plastic pieces also release toxic chemicals into the animal's body causing poisoning, disease, or
defects to its offspring.
The United Nations Environment Program estimated in 2006 that every square mile of ocean
hosts 46,000 pieces of floating plastic-while a 2014 study estimates that more than five trillion
plastic pieces weighing over 250,000 tons are afloat at sea. These micro-plastics will stay in our
oceans virtually forever-they persist and their removal is not possible.
In addition to being harmful to the marine environment, polystyrene is a threat to our public
health. Polystyrene contains the substances styrene and benzene-suspected carcinogens and
neurotoxins that are listed as a hazardous substance by the EPA. Polystyrene primarily exhibits
its toxicity to humans as a neurotoxin by attacking the central and peripheral nervous systems.
Food containers made with polystyrene can leach the toxin styrene when in contact with hot
food or drink, alcohol, oils, and acidic foods. This contact with polystyrene starts a partial
breakdown causing some toxins to be absorbed into our bloodstream and tissue.
Polystyrene food containers are contributing to serious environmental and public health issues.
Polystyrene foam may seem like a cheap, convenient material; but its true costs to our health
and environment are borne by others, including taxpayers and consumers. Tackling these
issues will require the culmination of many small actions to bring about the large change.
In the proposed ordinance, under Exemptions, Letter "D"-we understand the difficulty of
. regulating packaged foods with polystyrene coming to, and being sold in the City, however until
the time comes that this is a County or statewide regulation we would hope that the City would
strongly discourage this occurrence.
The City regulating polystyrene foam is an important, and easily implemented, step towards
meaningful change. Morro Coast Audubon Society urges the Arroyo Grande City Council to
move forward with a strong ordinance regulating Expanded Polystyrene Foam.
Respectively submitted,
DougTait
Conservation Chair, Morro Coast Audubon Society
P.O. BOX 1507 • MORRO BAY, CA 93443 805-772-1991
www.morrocoastaudubon.org