By Lookout Staff

August 17, 2010 – Santa Monica’s groundbreaking take-out food container program was presented with the 2010 Outstanding Waste Prevention Award from the California Resource Recovery Association (CRRA) last week.

In place since February 2007, the law prohibits local restaurants from using non-recyclable food containers, including those made from polystyrene (Styrofoam) that often end up littering the beaches.

Since the law went into effect, local restaurants have switched to recyclable plastic, paper and compostable containers.

"Santa Monica's restaurants and their patrons have embraced it and it has helped create a market for more environmentally friendly food packaging,” said Dean Kubani, director of the city's Office of Sustainability and the Environment. “And it has now become a model for programs in other cities throughout the country."

Said CRRA President Julie Muir, "Each year it is great to see the amazing programs that we have going on in the state. Between the initiatives of local government, federal agencies, nonprofits, individuals and small private businesses it's no wonder California is a leader in resource conservation, and well on its way toward Zero Waste."

In 1990 California passed Assembly Bill 939, mandating all cities and counties to divert 50 percent of their waste from landfills by 2000, since then many jurisdictions have adopted Zero Waste goals.

The California Resource Recovery Association (CRRA) is the largest and oldest affiliate recycling organization in the country. Founded in 1974, CRRA is a dynamic non-profit organization dedicated to resource conservation through the practices of reuse, recycling and composting.