SANTA MONICA, CA - The City of Santa Monica was has been awarded the 2010 Outstanding Waste Prevention Award from the California Resource Recovery Association (CRRA) for its ground breaking take out food container program.  Santa Monica's Non-Recyclable Plastic Disposable Food Service Container Ban, in place since February 9, 2007, is protecting our beaches and bay without limiting the outstanding take out food choices Santa Monica residents and visitors enjoy.  The program prohibits local restaurants from using non-recyclable food containers, including those made from polystyrene (Styrofoam), because these products end up as one of the main components of beach and marine litter.  Restaurants have responded positively by switching to recyclable plastic, paper and compostable containers which helps keep waste off the beaches and out of the landfills.
 
"We are excited to receive this award for what has been an incredibly successful program" said Dean Kubani, director of the city's Office of Sustainability and the Environment. "Santa Monica's restaurants and their patrons have embraced it and it has helped create a market for more environmentally friendly food packaging. And it has now become a model for programs in other cities throughout the country."