Interview With Aaron Peskin: San Francisco's Proposed Ban On Styrofoam: The Killer That Keeps on Killing

Interview by Linda Hunter
Published: July 2006

Aaron Peskin. Photo credit: SFGov.

LH: Was the Department of the Environment in San Francisco involved in the proposal? What about other organizations or agencies?

AP: We are working closely with the Department of the Environment on the details of this ordinance. We will also be working with the City Administrator, who, under the ordinance, will be charged with developing a list of compostable alternatives to plastic food service products.

LH: Has similar legislation been successful in other communities?

AP: Styrofoam bans first came about because of the harmful, ozone-depleting gases used to create the product. Close to 100 cities nationwide have imposed bans on Styrofoam food service. As Styrofoam makers have moved away from the use of Chlorofluorocarbons in their production processes, more recent bans have come about because of the litter and marine debris impacts of Styrofoam. Coastal California cities that have banned Styrofoam food service products – Malibu, Aliso Viejo, San Juan Capistrano, and Huntington Beach to name a few – have had great success in reducing the amount of litter that ends up in storm drains and on beaches.

LH: If passed, how will this legislation affect the amount of debris that goes into landfills?

AP: It’s estimated that some 7 million pounds of Styrofoam are used every year in San Francisco restaurants. If we can cut down on that flow of waste and help businesses turn to compostable alternatives like corn resin based products or coated paper, San Francisco will take another step towards our goal of being a zero-waste city.

LH: How do you respond to critics who say that this ban places an undue burden on small business owners?

AP: We took the burden on small businesses into close consideration when designing this ordinance. While we are requiring an outright ban on Styrofoam food service products, we are including an affordability waiver for businesses that can show that moving to entirely compostable food service products.

LH: Is this proposal part of your larger vision to make San Francisco greener, more environmentally sustainable?

AP: We’re lucky to live in a city where a great many people in government as well as in the private sector feel the same way about sustainability. So while my name is on this legislation, it represents the sentiments and vision of my colleagues on the Board and of many folks in the restaurant industry too.

This is a bolus from a baby albatross containing, among other things a pen cap, Styrofoam and plastic.  A bolus, very similar to an owl pellet, is the indigestible material that is regurgitated by a baby Albatross chick.  This one, kept in a plastic box has fallen out of shape, but boluses usually resemble a fat cigar.   When dissected, they will show the diet of the chick, but they will also show the health of the ocean, a reflection of the condition of the marine environment in which adult albatross hunt to find food for their chicks.  Just another reason why Styrofoam should be banned from our cities and our oceans.  To find out more about the  impact of ocean debris on albatross chicks go to: http://www.hawaiianatolls.org/research/June2006/march_albatross.php