On Wednesday, July 11, 2018, at 1:00 p.m. the City of San Diego Rules Committee will meet at City Council Committee Room, 12th Floor, City Administration Building, to discuss and vote whether to move forward with The Single Use Plastic Reduction Ordinance.
This ordinance would ban polystyrene foam and reduce other single-use plastics within the City of San Diego.
Please take action to ensure that The Single Use Reduction Ordinance passes the Rules Committee & makes it to a full city council vote as early as September!
The Surfrider Foundation’s San Diego Chapter volunteers collected 12,575 pieces of expanded polystyrene from San Diego County beaches in 2017 alone. Unfortunately, the majority is blown into the ocean because it is light in weight and easily breaks into very small, uncollectible pieces. Once in the ocean, polystyrene is often mistaken as food by marine life and ingestion of the single-use plastics can become fatal.
The largest of hundreds of tiny EPS foam pieces at a recent Sunset Cliffs beach cleanup.
Take Action!
1.Sign and share Surfrider’s Fight The Foam petition. The petition will be sent to San Diego city officials and referenced by Surfrider advocates to show that San Diegans support the proposed ordinance.
2. Call or email your district’s city councilmember’s office. Voice your support as a constituent.
3. Attend the Rules Committee meeting on Wednesday, July 11 at 1:00 pm.
Please advocate for the protection and enjoyment of our ocean, waves, and beaches by supporting the reduction of single-use plastics.
See below for excerpts from the ordinance!
The Single Use Reduction Ordinance prohibits the selling of, or distribution of:
"Food service ware , coolers, ice chests + similar containers , pool or beach toys, dock floats, mooring buoys, or anchor or navigation markers; made, in whole or in part, from Polystyrene Foam that is not wholly encapsulated or encased within a more durable material."
"No person may sell, offer for sale, or otherwise distribute for compensation within the City Meat and Fish Trays and Egg Cartons made, in whole or in part, from Polystyrene Foam,
A Food Vendor or Retail Food Vendor may only offer for use or distribute within the City: utensils, including, but not limited to forks, knives, spoons; made, in whole or in part, from Polypropylene plastic for takeout (to-go) orders of Prepared Food upon the request of the person(s) ordering the Prepared Food.
A Food Vendor or Retail Food Vendor may only offer for use or distribute within the City straws made, in whole or in part, from Polypropylene plastic upon the request of the person(s) ordering the Prepared Food.
One styrofoam clamshell can degrade into thousands of tiny pieces which end up in our environment.