Alhambra : Recycling Program OKd

The solution to limited landfill space is not to ban non-biodegradable packaging materials, but to encourage recycling, the City Council has decided.

At a meeting Monday, the council agreed with a city task force that a ban on polystyrene and plastic packaging products containing ozone-damaging chlorofluorocarbons was unnecessary, said Dennis Danner, director of administrative services.

The controversial chemical is no longer used by 99% of the nation’s polystyrene manufacturers, industry officials told task force members.

Instead of banning polystyrene, the city will begin a recycling program for 1,000 homes in southeastern Alhambra, Danner said. The three-month pilot program, scheduled to begin Oct. 1, will offer residents curbside pickup of recyclable materials such as newspapers, bottles and cans, he said.

Polystyrene and plastic packaging products such as grocery bags and fast-food storage containers, which also can be recycled, “may perhaps be part of a citywide recycling program,” Danner said.