No more excuses: Ban polystyrene in SLO County now!

4/14/21 IWMA board meeting: implementation of Ordinance No. 2019-1

I am writing to express my dismay that you have not yet implemented the ban on polystyrene waste that was passed by your board in 2019 and are still considering rescinding it entirely. Those troubled by the standard enforcement language of the ordinance can ask staff to remove any language that may imply jail time for infractions, leaving the ordinance as enforceable via warnings and fines. No one wants to put restaurant owners in jail. As you know, the Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989 gives IWMA the authority to “promote the following waste management practices in order of priority: 1) source reduction; 2) recycling and composting; and 3) environmentally safe transformation and environmentally safe land disposal, at the discretion of the city or county.” This is your mandate from the state. You have the authority to ban polystyrene from the waste stream. There is no “pending” state legislation addressing polystyrene waste that would preempt the local ordinance. In the event that such legislation may be passed someday and signed into law, all such local ordinances statewide would simply be superseded automatically, in accordance with standard practice. There is no reason to continue to delay the implementation of Ordinance No. 2019-1, let alone rescind it. Please show county residents that you care about our environment and implement it immediately.