Council to vote on Styrofoam

The Newport Beach City Council on Tuesday will consider passing a citywide ban on polystyrene products at restaurants.

The council is considering the ordinance after students from Newport Harbor High School lobbied city officials to ban polystyrene, commonly known as Styrofoam, because it pollutes local beaches. Many local restaurants use Styrofoam cups and take-out containers for to-go orders. Several Southern California cities have already adopted similar ordinances, including Laguna Beach and Santa Monica.

“What went into this is thousands of hours, five or six different City Councils, lots of press conferences, getting petitions signed and working with the Newport Beach Restaurant Assn.,” said Stephanie Barger, executive director of the environmental group Earth Resource Foundation, which has worked with the Newport Harbor students on the proposed ban.

“We’re really excited, but the point is not to get more laws passed. It’s to get people truly educated and take more actions,” Barger said. “This isn’t just an environmental issue but a quality-of-life issue.”

The ban includes a hardship clause that exempts restaurants if eliminating Styrofoam products from their businesses would cause owners undue economic hardship and no reasonable alternative can be found.

Local restaurants seem to be OK with the ban, said Sheri Drewry, president of the Newport Beach Restaurant Assn. Drewry’s family owns the Balboa Island restaurant Wilma’s Patio.

“The few that I have talked to, nobody has had a problem at all,” Drewry said. “It’s just a matter of finding a suitable replacement for Styrofoam.”

Councilman Keith Curry said he will probably vote in favor of the ban.

“You have to start someplace, and I commend the students at Newport Harbor High who have been dogged on this issue for several years,” Curry said.

“While it’s not going to solve all of the pollution problems, it’s a start,” he said.

Councilman Steve Rosansky, who also owns a restaurant in Orange, said he thought the ban was a good idea.

“I think we need to set an example,” Rosansky said. “How can we ask upper watershed cities to stop sending junk down the river without setting an example?”

If passed, the ordinance would go into effect April 29.

BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at brianna.bailey@latimes.com.