The vice mayor of Culver City casts himself as a realist.
When the City Council voted last week to ban polystyrene food containers by the middle of next year, celebrations were set off in the quarters of environmentalists. They believe Styrofoam-type litter now clotting Ballona Creek and the ocean shortly will begin to sharply recede.
“I don’t think the ban will make much difference in the state of the environment or in Ballona Creek,” says Jeff Cooper, the vice mayor.
“I say that because Culver City is very responsible about putting trash in the garbage cans.
“Most of the trash and the stuff that gets into the Creek is coming from the city of Los Angeles.”
Why bother, then, if the environmental improvement is minimal?
“It was important to ban the expandable polystyrene (also known as Styrofoam) because it definitely gets into the Creek,” Mr. Cooper said.
“Even if we are not contributing greatly to (cleanup), we are contributing to some extent,” he said.
“This kind of litter gets on the beach. That gets into marine life, and it gets back to us. The Styrofoam breaks down into tiny little pellets.”
Angelenos are the bad guys in the vice mayor’s scenario. “The city of Los Angeles contributes much more of our litter than we do,” Mr. Cooper said.
