Their goal is a clean break
Huntington residents start grass-roots No-Styrofoam Challenge
Some Huntington Beach residents are taking it upon themselves to help rid the city’s coast of polystyrene products and encourage the use of recyclable or compostable packaging.
Lori Robeson, Vern Nelson and Paul Both started the Huntington Beach No-Styrofoam Challenge, a grass-roots initiative that honors local businesses for cutting or stopping their use of polystyrene packaging and reducing litter on the beach.
In late 2013, the City Council considered barring food establishments from using plates, cups and containers made of expanded polystyrene, better known as Styrofoam. In January 2014, the proposal failed to garner enough support from council members.
The proposed ban also drew criticism from residents who were angry with the city after the council banned plastic bags in 2013. That ban is being repealed in light of a referendum planned for 2016 on the state’s plastic bag ban.
The city “tried to ban plastic bags here and people didn’t like that,” Nelson said. “So we decided to try something different. Let’s just give positive attention to places that do the right thing and try to encourage other places to stop using Styrofoam.”
Robeson, 48, said she got the idea for a grass-roots effort after attending a beach cleanup in January. She shared what she learned that day with members of the HB Open Community Forum, a Facebook group of local residents, and found others with the same idea.
Robeson met Nelson, 54, and Both, 48, through the social media page and began spreading the word about their cause.
“There’s a real good opportunity to get a message out there that if we don’t ban things, there’s other ways that we can do to get to the same place,” Both said.
Manny Florence, owner of Brewbakers in Huntington Beach, was the first to accept the challenge. Florence’s 19-year-old business, which brews beer and soda and bakes bread, is no stranger to ecologically friendly practices.
The store’s bread is packaged in paper bags. Glass bottles are shipped there and packaged in cardboard. Florence, 44, also started a program in which people can return the bottles to Brewbakers for store credit.
“Being from Huntington Beach, the ocean means a lot to us,” Florence said. “Being in the water all the time and continuously seeing garbage coming up to you, you eventually realize that there’s a problem.”
Though he understood both sides in the debate about plastic bags and polystyrene, Florence said he favored both bans because of their aim to protect the city.
“People should really be thinking that their right is to protect their home, their community and the Surf City beaches,” he said.
The No-Styrofoam Challenge honors businesses by presenting a certificate to a representative during the public comment period at a City Council meeting. The group has recognized five businesses this year: Brewbakers, Duke’s, Sandy’s, Olive Pit Grill and Zack’s.
“Our goal down the road in a year or two is to have no Styrofoam around here,” Nelson said.