“It’s a one-cent increase per container,” said Michael Tonti of the environmental foundation Surfrider. No restaurant owners spoke in favor of the ban, but residents, council members and the city staff report say low-cost alternatives are available. “As it is, we are struggling with higher food costs and higher labor. “There’s only so much we can increase our prices,” Robledo said. She pays $8.50 for 100 polystyrene containers at Smart & Final, she said, where the nearest acceptable alternative product costs $14.99 for 50 containers. Any alternative to plastic will also become litter, she added, and the ban will be a hardship for some small restaurants.Ĭecilia Robledo, owner of the popular Mexican restaurant Roberto’s on North Coast Highway, said the plastic foam containers are the most affordable, and that other products are more expensive and don’t work as well. “I think Styrofoam is the best thing for keeping hot drinks hot and cold drinks cold,” Marshall said. In Solana Beach, Councilwoman Ginger Marshall voted against the ordinance for some of those same reasons. Encinitas recently plans to ban the plastic on indefinite hold, after opposition from many in the business community who said they feared a change would mean added expense and inconvenience for their customers. It’s unclear what local cities, if any, might take up polystyrene next. Both those actions were soon followed by other cities in the region. In 2003 it became was first in the county to ban smoking on public beaches, and in 2012 because the first to remove single-use plastic bags from grocery stores, retailers and restaurants. Solana Beach already has a reputation for pushing environmental policy.
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