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CLEAN WATER ACTION CALIFORNIA May 4, 2011 Mayor Stephen Cassidy City of San Leandro City Hall 835 East 14th Street San Leandro, CA 94577 SUPPORT: a ban on polystyrene take -out containers at commercial and city venues Dear Mayor Cassidy: On behalf of Clean Water Action and our 85,000 members in California, I am writing to urge the the City of San Leandro to take action to end the use of polystyrene foam containers for takeout food and beverages at commercial and city venues. Polystyrene is a bad actor when it comes to packaging. It breaks easily into small pieces and easily escapes most litter collection efforts because it is lightweight and quickly dispersed by the wind. Foam pieces clog storm drains and cause flooding. Many wildlife species mistake polystyrene pieces for food — some, like the Layssan Albatross- are dying of starvation with stomachs full of plastics. We talk to hundreds of Bay Area residents in our door -to -door canvassing each week, and it is our experience that the public in general truly detests this type of litter. It degrades neighborhoods, accumulates in landscaping, and is a common eye -sore on beaches and shorelines. Cities like San Leandro have to comply with a 2009 Municipal Regional Permit issued by the Bay Area Regional Water Quality Control Board. The Permit requires that cities reduce discharges of trash to zero by 2022. Getting rid of polystyrene litter will help San Leandro meet this requirement because even though alternative forms of packaging may replace polystyrene as litter, they are easier to clean up because they don't break apart and blow away so readily. Indeed, polystyrene foam bans work. After the first year that San Francisco implemented its ban, the City's litter audit documented a 36% decrease in foam litter. Styrene, the monomer used in the manufacture of polystyrene food containers, is a carcinogen in lab animals. It is a neurotoxin in humans — associated with impaired balance, mobility, and hearing. EPA studies show that 100% of the American population has styrene in our bodies. Styrene leaches from packaging into food and beverage, particularly when in contact with heat, fats, or acids. Unfortunately, since state and federal regulators are failing to protect the public from toxic food packaging, local government has to take the initiative. Fears that the cost of alternatives to polystyrene will unduly burden restaurants are unfounded. We've done some research (see the attached fact sheet) and found that there are many comparably priced alternatives, some are even cheaper than foam. We believe that eliminating 1 1 1 New Montgomery Street, Suite 600 San Francisco, California 94105 www.cleanwater.org /ca