Contra Costa Bans Styrofoam Food Containers

Great news in Contra Costa County (outside SF)! The Board of Supervisors has passed an ordinance prohibiting the use of polystyrene food and beverage containers by vendors. This will go into effect May 1, 2020.

County officials hope to discourage environmental damage caused by the presence of polystyrene chunks and particles in the watershed by pushing restaurants, food trucks and other vendors to use alternative materials.

The board may also revise the ordinance to encourage the use of compostable materials in the future, although staff recommended against doing so for the time being because compostable food waste collection services aren't uniformly available throughout the county, and compostables that end up in landfill will generate greenhouse gases as they decompose.