Second in a series
Re “Jackpot Question: If Not Polystyrene, What?”
Is the City Council’s heavily endorsed maiden attempt to outlaw food-oriented polystyrene containers – because the shattered debris soils the environment – a cinch to win approval?
Hyped Council members and vigorously dedicated environmentalists have not entertained a doubt from the first note.
Enacting – and enforcing – a polystyrene ban is more complicated, even more convoluted, than it appeared to be at first.
Have enthusiasts thought through the wiggly path to a successful conclusion – as in, what will replace the seven different forms of polystyrene that evidently have monopolized the food market?
An astute young woman charged with explaining the distinctions between and among the seven kinds of polystyrene popularly being used, sounded frustrated that suitable replacements for polystyrene containers have been 100 percent elusive.
Salad lovers are not going to schlep their meals from store to home in a brown paper bag.
Coffee lovers are not going to provide cups from home.
When you can’t finish a meal at your favorite diner or deli, the surviving take-home portion probably will not fit into your trousers’ pockets or your roomy purse.
The young woman demonstrator was both disappointed and exasperated that polystyrene substitutes have not been found.
“There have been a lot of attempts to find a replacement,” she said. “So far, though, no one has come close.”
While research continues, enthusiasts are nagged by the news that bans in some communities, notably Manhattan Beach, are not being aggressively enforced.
(To be continued)
