Recommendation to request City Manager to draft a letter of support for SB 54 (Allen)/AB 1080 (Gonzalez), regarding statewide efforts to phase out the sale and distribution of single-use plastics in California by 2030.
Thank you. Now we're going to move to item 13 1:00, please, with item. Item 13. Communication from Councilwoman Gonzalez. Councilmember Peers. Councilwoman Price. Councilmember Suranga. Recommendation to requires city manager to draft a letter of support for SB 54 and SB 1080 regarding statewide efforts to phase out the sale and distribution of single use plastics in California by 2030. Thank you. And also, like say a few words before we, you know, do public comment. Yes. I just wanted to first provide my gratitude and thanks to a few members of the community who've been strong supporters of our sustainability practices and policies here in the city of Long Beach. First to our friends at El Goleta, as well as Surfrider and the Sierra Club, as well as Long Beach, 350 and Long Beach Environmental Alliance. Together, they have helped us not only eliminate Styrofoam containers and go through that process, but they've really built a whole framework and system around sustainability efforts as well as our sustainability commission and department. Thanks to all of them. Just to give you some some preliminary information that we have so far right now, we actually have just relative to the Styrofoam ban. We have more than 50 early adopters of the foam free HLB initiative. 50 businesses that have said yes to the foam free initiative prior to the inaction. And we're going to see more through implementation of this entire program. We also have a great program now called Bring Your Own Long Beach to encourage residents to bring you reusable to-go items to reduce our dependance on single use plastics. And the state is now mandating or looking at mandating opportunities to phase out single use plastics and go to reusable, recyclable and compostable by 2030. I know that everybody looks at this as very ambitious, and I know that we can do it. And Long Beach has absolutely been a leader. We also have about 15 businesses certified as green businesses in about 50 more in the pipeline. So I know absolutely we can do it. Our our state officials, Senator Ben Allen and Assembly member Lorena Gonzalez were the authors of this. And I ask my colleagues to support, I think my colleagues that have supported already. Council member Janine Pearce, Council Member Susie Price, council member Roberta Turanga. And I hope the others can support and I'll answer any questions if you have them. But thank you so much. Thank you, Councilman Pearce. I want to thank my colleague for once again leading on making sure that we clean up our environment. And I want to thank city staff that has really made Long Beach a model. I know that we went through a lengthy process to ban polystyrene and recognize that because of those efforts, we are at a place where the state is looking at expanding, cleaning up our environment. So I want to thank you and hopefully our council can support this and I look forward to hearing from community. Thank you, Councilman Price. Thank you. I, too, want to thank Councilman Councilwoman Gonzales for bringing this item forward. I like this legislation because of the amount of time that the phasing and the implementation process will take. I think that will allow everyone the opportunity to plan for the changes, which I think is very important. Obviously, the premise of the legislation is solid and something that we all believe in here in the city of Long Beach. It's always the rollout that has unintended consequences. So I like the lengthy rollout on this, giving everyone the opportunity to prepare for and plan ahead. So thank you. And I support this item. Thank you, Councilman. During the debate tomorrow night to where I thank Councilwoman Gonzales for bringing this forward as a member of the Coastal Commission, I get to see a lot of what's taking place out in the oceans. And there's this big garbage patch they call the great garbage patch out in the North Pacific that is just the size of the state of New York, not even plastic and in a great majority of that plastic or straws. So hopefully we can, with this legislation, make a significant impact in that we may not be able to clean up the great garbage patch, but at least we won't add to it. And I hope that with this legislation and I support that we can make a significant impact on it. And I also I unashamedly want to invite you to coming up in the next few months or so, we're going to have a beach clean up day here in Long Beach. And I hope you all are able to join me to go down the beach and let's clean up all that plastics down there. Thank you. Very much. Thank you. Councilman Cipriano. Thank you. I just have a point of clarification I'd like to have on the item and it might be phased in in a later date. But do you know, are retail sales included that would prohibit sales of EPS like on shore store shelves like Target or Smart and Vinyl? And if it is like is it later downstream or do you know? The on our current ban. Are you referring to this is these single use plastics which is aside from expanded polystyrene will be shook up but the expanded polystyrene from what I understand. I don't know that it includes the large facilities. We just included the small businesses that would be implemented 18 months from. I think. When did we enact that? It was September of last year. I want to say I might my dates are getting. Yes, if my memory is correct. We did the large first we did the city. So city is already in effect for. Polystyrene ban we just. Implemented in March for the large restaurants. I believe that was 100 and above. And then. Later, I think. In. The fall, we're looking. At the smaller businesses. The smaller restaurants. To be come into compliance phase. Three. So so my question I will be asked this question like that's I just want to be clear, I'm staying in support. But I just I know I'll ask this if it'll apply to products sold at retail, if you know. Yeah, it should. Right now, I think that they're just looking at that. So that's something that we can include, if you'd like to. It's part of our state legislative agenda as well. Okay. All right. Thank you. All right. Thank you. Are there any a public comment on this item? Please come forward. Very good he. Fully supportive of this concept and I today just happened to be and I wonder where why we call these strawberries and I picked these up today and just have a great bargain. $0.99 over here in superior market. Try it, try it out. But I fully support that. And if you haven't done so, Google straws and you'll see the type of straws that are available that will not hurt the environment. It really surprised me getting inside of that there. You can use them at home, restaurants can have them or whatever but Google and study it for yourself. Thank you Mr. good you next week you. Good evening. Council Members Vice Mayor South and James Stellar Sewer District two resident. And I am the outreach and partnerships manager for Grid Alternatives and I've presented before on all our efforts around solar. But this is really important. So thank you to Councilmember Lena Gonzalez and to all that have been working to ban Styrofoam and plastic, single use plastic. This is really important. I think that Long Beach leads the way in many, many ways throughout the state of California, in our efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, to reduce pollution, trash and especially plastic. You go to the beach to any of our beaches and I am such a nerd. I take my little bag with me and I'm constantly picking up plastic and it's a never ending job. So I appreciate all the the clean ups to that take place, but we have to stand in front of the other cities. We have to be at the forefront. And we really have to take this seriously because climate change is not going away. It's speeding up. In fact, you can turn on the TV any any day of the week. You can see a. Post. About, you know, the the the ways in which our environment is being impacted by Styrofoam by plastic. So I appreciate everyone supporting this letter of support and for your efforts to combat climate change and greenhouse gas emissions. Thank you. Thank you very much, Janie. My part of public comment not to please cast your vote. Councilmember Austin wishing Karis. Thank you. Now we'll move up to item 15 with the clerk. Please read the item.