SAUSALITO Calif. Restaurants in Sausalito, Calif., could be fined up to $100 for using a polystyrene takeout container after Sept. 1, 2008, under a ban that was reportedly passed this week by the City Council.
The new law, however, offers some flexibility in allowing businesses to ask the city for a waiver if they can prove making the switch to cardboard or other more environmentally friendly containers would be a hardship.
The ban aims to reduce the amount of litter that collects along the city’s waterfront. Violators would be fined after receiving a warning for a first-time offense. Repeat offenders could see fines of up to $500.
Grocery stores that sell polystyrene products are exempt from the ban.
Other cities along the California coast have implemented similar bans, including Fairfax, Sonoma, San Francisco, Berkeley and Oakland.
