By ISABELLE ROUGHOL
sentinel correspondent
CAPITOLA — Almost two weeks after Capitola's foam ban went into effect, many restaurants have not changed their packaging.
Confusion about the ordinance among vendors and lack of communication between the city, the restaurants and corporate offices that provide local supplies mean the prohibited polystyrene cups and plates still find their way to the consumers.
But the food vendors using polystyrene and other banned plastics, which environmentalists say kills marine life and is a public health threat, will not face consequences. The ordinance went into effect July 1, but it will not be enforced for at least three months.
Many restaurant managers last week said they were unaware of the ban or confused about it. The city sent out a letter to food vendors last fall when the ordinance was first discussed at two public hearings, but the city hasn't sent any correspondence since, according to the city's Commission on the Environment.
Since then, the ban has been discussed, passed, contested and amended, leading to a confusing situation for all parties involved.
"What was clear is that the work we've put in over the last year ... was not appreciated," said Barbara Graves, vice chair of the Commission on the Environment. "The rest of it is unclear"
In recent weeks, the city organized a subcommittee comprised of two staff members — City Manager Rich Hill and Councilman Sam Storey and Ron Graves — to prepare an informational packet and survey, but that will not be sent out to restaurateurs for another month, Capitola Mayor Mike Termini said.
"My impression is that most restaurateurs want to do the right thing," Barbara Graves said. "I think most of them don't know"
For owners and managers of restaurants affiliated with national chains, the miscommunication is not just with the city. Local stores and national headquarters seem confused about whose responsibility it is to abide by local mandates.
Local franchises typically receive their packaging through the national company and don't always get to decide what material their cups and plates are made of.
"It's up to them," said Mariano Serriteno, manager of Sbarro's Pizzeria in the Capitola Mall, which uses plastic plates and silverware, now banned. "I just order forks and they come"
Chains, however, can have a hard time keeping up with the local laws of every town where they're present and rely on local franchisees and managers to inform them.
"For the most part, we tell the franchisees that it is their business they're running," said Les Winograd, a spokesman for Subway, which uses polystyrene soup bowls in its Capitola Mall location. "We tell them 'be familiar with the laws that are relevant to your business.' "
Jamba Juice, too, is still using polystyrene in Capitola, but in San Francisco, where a foam ban took effect June 1, the chain had entirely switched to paper on the first day of the requirement.
"Maybe there was some confusion about the law [in Capitola]," said Anne Baker, a spokeswoman for Jamba Juice. "We definitely intend to comply. It's not just an enforcement thing"
Representatives for Subway, Jamba Juice and Chinese Gourmet Express said they would change their packaging in Capitola immediately. Subway and Jamba Juice are working to do away with polystyrene in all restaurants nationwide, their representatives said.
Carl's Jr., Sbarro's, Chili's and Dairy Queen headquarters were unavailable for comment last week.
The Capitola City Council passed the plastic ban last fall. The ordinance requires food vendors within Capitola city limits to use biodegradable or compostable food packaging, unless they can prove that moving away from plastic poses a financial burden. But after receiving complaints from the local chapter of the California Restaurant Association, the council agreed to reconsider the ordinance at a meeting in June. The ban was maintained but its enforcement was delayed.
Capitola is the only city in the county and one of more than 100 in the country to have such a ban. Volunteers for the Commission on the Environment estimated that about 80 percent of Capitola food vendors had stopped using polystyrene before the ban, but there are no official numbers on plastic use in the city.
The city is not accepting complaints at this time or taking any action against businesses using the banned plastics, Termini said.
"Although technically I suppose they're in violation of the ordinance until they get a financial exemption, " Termini said, "there's nothing that's going to happen to them"
Monday, July 23, 2007
Sunday, July 15, 2007
WWF film calls for Marine Act
STAKEHOLDERS including a sea angler from Hartlepool and an oyster fisherman from Essex have added their voice to 'A Fair Share of the Sea', a new film produced by WWF as the latest step in its Marine Act Campaign.
In a series of interviews, WWF talked to a diverse group of people living and working on the coastlines around the UK to gauge their views on the challenges facing the marine environment. Each has differing viewpoints based on their own personal experiences, but the one thing they all share in common is a dependence upon UK seas, and a passion for protecting the environment that they depend upon - whether that be for renewable energy, tourism, or fishing.
The problems facing our marine environment are highly visible to each of those interviewed. According to recreational sea angler David Moreton from Hartlepool: “The fish are sadly all gone and the fishing is not a patch on what it used to be.”
In Scotland, the Firth of Forth, home to one of the UK’s largest grey seal breeding populations and tens of thousands of nesting seabirds, is under threat from ship to ship oil transfers, according to WWF.
Tom Brock, CEO of the Scottish Seabird Centre is concerned: “This proposal to transfer huge amounts of oil in the Firth of Forth with no real benefit to the local economy but a huge threat to our wildlife and our tourism industry is just remarkable. It highlights the fact that there are gaps in the current legislation.”
According to WWF, this is a particularly crucial time to look to UK seas, as they are facing the global environmental challenge of climate change as well as the continuing pressures of human activities. It says the UK has the best wind, tidal and wave energy resources in Europe.
"We urgently need a proper planning system to ensure we get the right renewable energy technology in the right place and protect biodiversity from the effects of climate change," a statement issued today said.
"Currently, there is a complicated mish-mash of laws that fail to manage the growing pressures of man's activities in UK seas. A new Marine Act would update the management of our activities at sea and protect the marine ecosystem."
In June 2007, WWF submitted its response to the Government’s consultation on the Marine Bill. This urged the Government to introduce a Marine Bill in the next Queen’s Speech. WWF says Gordon Brown now has a "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity to provide legislation for the UK’s vast area of sea, which, it claims, is currently lacking any proper protection
In a series of interviews, WWF talked to a diverse group of people living and working on the coastlines around the UK to gauge their views on the challenges facing the marine environment. Each has differing viewpoints based on their own personal experiences, but the one thing they all share in common is a dependence upon UK seas, and a passion for protecting the environment that they depend upon - whether that be for renewable energy, tourism, or fishing.
The problems facing our marine environment are highly visible to each of those interviewed. According to recreational sea angler David Moreton from Hartlepool: “The fish are sadly all gone and the fishing is not a patch on what it used to be.”
In Scotland, the Firth of Forth, home to one of the UK’s largest grey seal breeding populations and tens of thousands of nesting seabirds, is under threat from ship to ship oil transfers, according to WWF.
Tom Brock, CEO of the Scottish Seabird Centre is concerned: “This proposal to transfer huge amounts of oil in the Firth of Forth with no real benefit to the local economy but a huge threat to our wildlife and our tourism industry is just remarkable. It highlights the fact that there are gaps in the current legislation.”
According to WWF, this is a particularly crucial time to look to UK seas, as they are facing the global environmental challenge of climate change as well as the continuing pressures of human activities. It says the UK has the best wind, tidal and wave energy resources in Europe.
"We urgently need a proper planning system to ensure we get the right renewable energy technology in the right place and protect biodiversity from the effects of climate change," a statement issued today said.
"Currently, there is a complicated mish-mash of laws that fail to manage the growing pressures of man's activities in UK seas. A new Marine Act would update the management of our activities at sea and protect the marine ecosystem."
In June 2007, WWF submitted its response to the Government’s consultation on the Marine Bill. This urged the Government to introduce a Marine Bill in the next Queen’s Speech. WWF says Gordon Brown now has a "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity to provide legislation for the UK’s vast area of sea, which, it claims, is currently lacking any proper protection
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) is the most important treaty protecting the safety of merchant ships. The first version of the treaty was passed in 1914 in response to the sinking of the RMS Titanic. It prescribed numbers of lifeboats and other emergency equipment along with safety procedures, including continuous radio watches.
Newer versions were adopted in 1929, 1948, 1960 and 1974. The 1960 Convention - which was activated in 1965 - was the first major achievement for International Maritime Organization (IMO) after its creation and represented a massive advance in updating commercial shipping regulations and in staying up-to-date with new technology and procedures in the industry. The 1974 version simplified the process for amending the treaty. A number of amendments have been adopted since. In particular, amendments in 1988 based on amendments of International Radio Regulations in 1987 replaced Morse code with the Global Maritime Distress Safety System (GMDSS) and came into force beginning 1 February 1992.
The intention had been to keep the convention up to date by periodic amendments, but the procedure to incorporate the amendments proved to be very slow: it could take several years for the amendments to be put into action since countries had to give notice of acceptance to IMO and there was a minimum threshold of countries and tonnage. The latest Convention in 1974 therefore included the "tacit acceptance" procedure whereby amendments enter into force by default unless nations file objections that meet a certain number or tonnage.
The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) is the most important treaty protecting the safety of merchant ships. The first version of the treaty was passed in 1914 in response to the sinking of the RMS Titanic. It prescribed numbers of lifeboats and other emergency equipment along with safety procedures, including continuous radio watches.
Newer versions were adopted in 1929, 1948, 1960 and 1974. The 1960 Convention - which was activated in 1965 - was the first major achievement for International Maritime Organization (IMO) after its creation and represented a massive advance in updating commercial shipping regulations and in staying up-to-date with new technology and procedures in the industry. The 1974 version simplified the process for amending the treaty. A number of amendments have been adopted since. In particular, amendments in 1988 based on amendments of International Radio Regulations in 1987 replaced Morse code with the Global Maritime Distress Safety System (GMDSS) and came into force beginning 1 February 1992.
The intention had been to keep the convention up to date by periodic amendments, but the procedure to incorporate the amendments proved to be very slow: it could take several years for the amendments to be put into action since countries had to give notice of acceptance to IMO and there was a minimum threshold of countries and tonnage. The latest Convention in 1974 therefore included the "tacit acceptance" procedure whereby amendments enter into force by default unless nations file objections that meet a certain number or tonnage.
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