SALINAS, CALIF. (Aug. 17, 1:45 p.m. ET) — Salinas has joined the growing number of communities in California that have banned the use of polystyrene foam takeout packaging.
The ban, enacted by City Council in a 6-1 vote Aug. 16, is scheduled to go into effect Feb. 12.
With a population of more than 150,000, Salinas is the fourth-largest city in the state to ban PS containers — after San Francisco, Oakland and Huntington Beach.
Salinas is also the largest city in Monterey County and the first inland community in the county to ban PS takeout packaging. The other cities in Monterey County with PS bans are the coastal communities of Carmel, Pacific Grove, Monterey, Del Ray Oaks, and Seaside.
The broad definition in the Salinas law extends the ban to all disposable food serviceware, including plates, cups, bowls, trays, cup lids, straws, utensils, hinged or lidded containers, bags, wrappings and cartons. The ban applies to all establishments that sell or provide prepared food for takeout, including vendors and push carts.
Salinas is the fourth city in California to enact a PS ban this year. There are now 39 bans on PS takeout packaging in the state — 36 by cities and three counties. In addition, Los Angeles and four other counties in California have PS bans at citywide facilities and events.
The state Assembly Appropriations Committee is scheduled to vote Aug. 25 on a bill that would phase out PS packaging statewide starting in 2016. The bill, SB 568, has already passed in the state Senate.
Along the West Coast, there are also bans on PS takeout containers in Seattle and Issaquah, Wash.; and in Portland, Ore.
