Capitola's foam ban slow to get off ground

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"