12 • 06 • 2022
Key LA City Plastic Reduction Efforts Pass!
As of December 6th, 2022, the Los Angeles City Council acted to ban expanded polystrene at local restaurants, prohibit all single-use plastic bags, and mandate zero waste and city facilities and events.
Among all the debris that we find in our local Los Angeles waterways and beaches, single-use foodware and expanded polystyrene products always manage to top our list. Plastics, specifically single-use plastics, notoriously stay in our environment for centuries if they are not discarded properly - harming wildlife and communities in the process.
That’s exactly why we’re excited to announce that the LA City Council voted unanimously to adopt 3 ordinances that will decrease plastics significantly.
Advocates have been working on banning expanded polystyrene (commonly called Styrofoam) for more than a decade. Foam foodware accessories, including takeout containers and cups, can leach toxic chemicals and pose a threat to human health and the environment. Additionally, City Councilmembers voted to fix a loophole that allowed for the distribution of thicker disposable plastic bags in grocery stores that were marketed as “reusable” to the community.
To learn more about this important victory in LA City, visit the Reusable LA Coalition website HERE.