HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 2005-1 RESOLUTION NO. ' -2-0-0 5-1
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
HUNTINGTON BEACH,CALIFORNIA,PROHIBITING
THE USE OF EXPANDABLE POLYSTYRENE
(COMMONLY REFERRED TO BY THE TRADE NAME
"STYROFOAM")FOOD SERVICE PRODUCTS WITHIN
CITY FACILITIES AND AT CITY-SPONSORED EVENTS.
WHEREAS,the City of Huntington Beach has a duty to protect the natural environment for
present and future generations; and
WHEREAS,the litter problem resulting from expandable polystyrene is becoming
increasingly difficult to manage and has costly negative implications for tourism,wildlife,aesthetics
and most recently,public storm drain systems; and
WHEREAS, expandable polystyrene,a petroleum based product that is frequently used for
food service purposes,enters the various water bodies from both direct as well as indirect sources
(such as storm conveyance systems), and negatively impacts the overall quality of ocean waters and
adjacent beach areas; and
WHEREAS,expandable polystyrene does not effectively biodegrade in the environment,
but merely breaks down into smaller particles, that litter the City's streets,parks,public places,open
spaces, beaches and ocean: and
WHEREAS, a deterioration in the quality of the City's ocean waters and beaches threatens
the public health, safety and welfare and negatively affects tourism and the local economy which
depends on tourist trade;and
WHEREAS, expandable polystyrene waste poses a risk to the fragile ecological balance,
since marine and land wildlife often perish as a result of ingesting expandable polystyrene products;
and
WHEREAS,the 1999-2000 Orange County Grand Jury report entitled"The Rainy Season's
First Flush Hits the Harbors of Orange County", strongly recommended that the County of Orange
and the cities within it,institute a procedure to substantially reduce the use and sale of disposable
plastics and expandable polystyrene within its jurisdiction; and
WHEREAS,expandable polystyrene contributes to urban blight as litter especially due to its
lightweight nature as it floats in water and/or is easily blown in the wind from place to place even
when disposed of properly; and
WHEREAS,expandable polystyrene food service products,by their nature,have a useful
life that can be measured in minutes or hours, yet it takes several decades to hundreds of years to
deteriorate in the environment or landfill;and
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Resolution 2005-1
WHEREAS,the City of Huntington Beach is mandated to meet the California Integrated
Waste Management Act(AB 939, Sher,Chapter 1095, Statutes of 1989 as amended),which
required that all cities and counties in the State divert fifty percent(50%)of discarded materials
from entering landfills by December 31, 2000, and ultimately,most single-use throwaway consumer
and commercial plastic products end their life in a landfill; and
WHEREAS,there is currently no meaningful recycling of food service expandable
polystyrene products,due in part to contamination from food residue; and
WHEREAS, alternative products,which are bio-degradable, reusable and/or recyclable are
readily available at reasonable cost;and
WHEREAS,the City of Huntington Beach desires to exercise environmental stewardship by
reducing the amount of expandable polystyrene debris that enters the City's storm drains,watershed
and coastal environment and reducing the amount of expandable polystyrene that enters our waste
stream.
NOW,THEREFORE,the City Council of the City of Huntington Beach does hereby
resolve as follows.
Section 1. The City of Huntington Beach shall not prospectively purchase or acquire
food service products which are produced with expandable polystyrene. Prohibited products
include,but are not limited to, expandable polystyrene food service items such as cups,plates and
trays.
Section 2. All future rental agreements for usage of any City-owned property or facility
shall require that contracting parties assume responsibility for preventing the utilization and/or
distribution of expandable polystyrene products by any attendee or vendor at the associated
function. The rental agreement shall indicate that the violating contractor's security deposit will be
forfeited if the Community Services Director,or his/her designee, determines that such products
were utilized in violation of the rental agreement.
Section 3. The use or distribution of expandable polystyrene products at all future
special events that are sponsored or co-sponsored by the City of Huntington Beach shall be
prohibited. This prohibition shall apply to the event organizers,agents of the event organizers, event -
vendors,and any other parry(including non-profit organizations)who enter into an agreement with
one or more of the co-sponsors of the event to sell goods or beverages at the event or otherwise
provide an event-related service. The prohibition on the use of expandable polystyrene products will
not be enforced upon individuals who are attending the function solely as a visitor or spectator.
All future written agreements with any vendor,including non-profit organizations,to sell
goods or beverages at a City-sponsored event, shall specifically prohibit the usage and distribution
of expandable polystyrene food service products and shall indicate that the violating permittee's
security deposit will be forfeited if the Community Services Director, or his/her designee,
determines that such products were utilized in violation of the rental agreement.
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Resolution 2005-1
Section 4. The provisions of this Resolution shall not apply to the City's Senior
Nutrition Program.
Section S. All individuals, groups,businesses,non-governmental and other
governmental entities are strongly encouraged to assist in preserving the environment by ceasing to
purchase and use expandable polystyrene food service products.
Section 6. Resolution 2004-21 and any other resolution in conflict with this resolution
are hereby repealed.
PASSED AND ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Huntington Beach at a
regular meeting thereof held on the 3rd day of January 200 5
C' Clerk Af
JPROVED AS TO FORM:
INITIATED, REVIEWED AND APPROVED:
Atto ey
j
'City Ad inistrator
04 mo/styrofoam 3
Res. No. 2005-1
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
COUNTY OF ORANGE ) ss:
CITY OF HUNTINGTON BEACH )
I, JOAN L. FLYNN the duly elected, qualified City Clerk of the
City of Huntington Beach, and ex-officio Clerk of the City Council of said City,
do hereby certify that the whole number of members of the City Council of the
City of Huntington Beach is seven; that the foregoing resolution was passed
and adopted by the affirmative vote of at least a majority of all the members of
said City Council at an regular meeting thereof held on the 3rd day of
January, 2005 by the following vote:
AYES: Hansen, Coerper, Sullivan, Hardy, Green, Bohr, Cook
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: None
Cit Jerk and ex-officio rk of the
City Council of the City of
Huntington Beach, California