South City Styrofoam ban is extended to retailers

Mayor James Coleman said the push to take the current ordinance a step further was in part guided by his experience going shopping at a local grocery store.

“There were only Styrofoam plates and cups and not even a paper option and I thought, ‘Oh, I thought we banned this,’” he said. “It turns out it is banned but there is a loophole for retail sellers.”

More than 30 cities throughout the state have also banned the retail sale of Styrofoam in their stores, including Richmond, San Francisco, Palo Alto and Los Altos.

“Polystyrene is non-biodegradable because it takes 500 years to decompose, and it is not recyclable, and because it is not biodegradable, it remains in our landfills indefinitely. It breaks into really tiny pieces, infiltrating our water and food sources,” said Deputy City Manager Christina Fernandez during the council meeting Aug. 29. “There is growing consensus that polystyrene, also known as foam or styrofoam, is also a carcinogen and leaks harmful chemicals when heated … in the U.S., we make up nearly 5% of the world’s population but contribute nearly 40% of the world’s waste.”

Based on feedback from numerous establishments, Fernandez added that most businesses have already stopped selling Styrofoam, but those that do said it would take them roughly four to six months to sell their remaining product or transfer it to another location outside the city — hence a Jan. 1, 2025, effective date.

“Initially enforcement will be based on education and outreach as retailers transition, which is something very similar to the approach that we took with the county’s disposable food service-ware ordinance implementation,” she said.

The City Council voted unanimously to approve the updated ordinance.

“The next stop is [prohibiting] Styrofoam in general because if you ever see how much Styrofoam you end up with when you buy a TV, it’s more than you can put in your trash receptacle,” Councilmember Mark Addiego said. “If that gets on the roadway, it turns into 10 million pieces.”

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