LA MESA, Calif. — The City of La Mesa is taking a bold step to cut single-use plastic.
The city voted Tuesday to direct staff to draft an ordinance to limit the use of single use-plastics and styrofoam. Councilmembers added a motion to form a council subcommittee and get input from businesses and how they could be impacted by a ban.
“We are looking out for the public at large," said Councilwoman, Patrica Dillard. “We have so much plastic now that we’ve come to just get used to it and we don’t even notice it."
“This is a start, it's not meant to be an end-all or completely solve our plastic issue," said Councilmember, Jack Shu.
The proposed ordinance would mirror similar bans already passed in other cities across San Diego County.
The phased-out approach would reduce single-use plastic in the city of La Mesa.
Councilmembers, however, voted not to move forward to draw up an ordinance that would ban plastic beverage bottles at city-sponsored events.
Mitch Silverstein, the policy manager for the Surfrider Foundation, says the city is taking a step in the right direction
“If the city council votes to pass it, La Mesa will be the first city in East County to pass a single-use plastic reduction ordinance. Something that they should be proud of and hopefully set an example for other east county cities to follow”
Nine cities in San Diego County and over 130 cities across California have phased-out foam and other single-use plastics.
Silverstein hopes they can make it happen in La Mesa, too.
“All of our trash is coming down and its going into the ocean so it takes every city, every community to do something about it," he added.
The city council voted to draw up the ordinance after the state of the city address.
During the address, Mayor Mark Arapostathis laid out the city’s plan to meet the needs of residents and businesses.
Building more affordable housing, advancing infrastructure, tackling the homelessness crisis, and climate action were among the top priorities in the mayor's address.
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