A study to examine a wide-ranging ban on the use of take-out containers, plastic cups and single-use straws was approved unanimously by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Tuesday, but not before several people spoke out in opposition to the idea.

Supervisor Sheila Kuehl said that polystyrene, a synthetic material, is used in a variety of food service ware and is so light that it often blows out of overflowing trash receptacles and ends up in our rivers, streams, and the ocean, where it breaks down into small pieces and can harm human health as well as threaten our ecosystem and wildlife.

Kuehl held up a large photograph of a trash island, that showed mounds of plastic items that clogged up a shoreline. Polystyrene is different than Styrofoam.

This is what the trash looks like in the ocean,said Kuehl, who co-authored the motion with Supervisor Janice Hahn to have county departments to assemble a feasibility study.

A proposed ban had been brought up before in 2011, when the countys Department of Public Works explored the feasibility of using other products. The report concluded that there were viable alternatives, without a high cost to businesses. But the Board held back on a vote, pending a state bill that at the time would have banned polystyrene containers across California. That legislation didnt move forward and a similar state bill introduced recently also died.

Kuehl noted that 110 municipalities across the Golden State, including Pasadena, Calabasas, Hermosa Beach and West Hollywood, adopted ordinances prohibiting or restricting polystyrene containers and other ware. She said since the county last studied the issue, there are new technologies and products that are environmentally friendly, biodegradable and cost-effective.

But while members of organizations such as Heal the Bay, the Surfrider Foundation, and a local chapter of the Sierra Club all applauded the countys efforts, representatives of other organizations such as Valley Industry Commerce Association, BizFed, the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, and the California Grocers Association spoke out against the idea, saying that there were too many misconceptions about polystyrene.

Adena Tessler, a spokeswoman for the California Restaurant Association, asked the board to take into consideration what a proposed ban would mean to small family owned restaurants. Family restaurants in L.A. County are currently struggling to adjust to the minimum wage hike, she said, adding that new products out there wont reduce landfill waste.

Anne Nguyen, with the Dart Container Corporation, said the company hires 650 Californians and a ban would threaten employment. The company, she said wants to work to improve its products, but the alternatives to polystyrene cant be recycled.

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Polystyrene, some who spoke out noted, is only recyclable if there is no food waste on it.

Manhattan Beach Mayor David Lesser said family owned restaurants had adjusted fine and found alternatives when his city adopted a ban in 2013.

Nearly 90 percent of our merchants are in compliance, David Lesser. Its viewed as a success.

Hahn said she wanted the feasibility study to include voices from business owners as well, but she has noticed the plastic waste along the coastal areas of her district.

I have many beaches in the district I represent, she said. A lot of this (polystyrene) ends up in our beaches and threatens are beautiful ecosystems.

County departments are expected to present a feasibility study in 120 days.

Kuehl also introduced a motion that members of the Board also passed that looks into whether all new construction, building additions or major roof replacements in the unincorporated areas of the county can use cool roof materials to help manage heat that is both absorbed inside the structures and in the atmosphere. The City of Los Angeles passed a similar ordinance in 2014. County departments will return with a report on cool roofs in 120 days.

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Fed up with 'trash islands,' LA County leaders consider ban on some food containers - LA Daily News