Fremont City Council Bans Plastic-Foam Food Containers
On May 11, the Fremont City Council approved a measure prohibiting food vendors from using plastic-foam takeout containers. The ban, which was passed the council by a unanimous 5-0 vote, will take effect on January 1, 2011. Councilmember Bob Wieckowski (who is a Democrat running for State Assembly in District 20, the same seat that I am currently running for) was the law’s main sponsor.
The Fremont law applies to all establishments that provide prepared food, including supermarkets, caterers, and cafeterias, as well as to large groups renting city facilities. They will now be forced to use containers that can be composted or recycled. Inspectors from the Union Sanitary District, who already make yearly inspections of food vendors, will be in charge of ensuring compliance. Fines will escalate from $100 to up to $500 a day. Fremont will become the fifth city in Alameda County to implement a plastic-foam ban, joining Alameda, Berkeley, Emeryville, and Oakland.
This is yet another example of the government getting involved with issues that are best left up to the free market to decide. Let’s think through this issue. Currently, a business owner can decide to either use plastic-foam containers or not use plastic-foam containers. A lot of factors go into the decision-making process, including the cost of the containers, the effectiveness of the containers, and public opinion of the containers. If the business owner decides to use the plastic-foam container, and it turns out that customers believe the containers are bad for the environment, then the customers will be less likely to frequent that particular restaurant. Sales will decline, and the business owner, in order to increase business, will have a natural tendency to want to get rid of the offending containers. But if the public didn’t care about the use of the plastic-foam containers, then the business owner will stick with the container that made the best business sense from the very beginning. The free market will lead to the best conclusion. There is no need for the government to step in in this situation.
It is time for us to start seeing what our elected officials are doing. They are slowly expanding the influence of government into every aspect of our lives. I, for one, believe in freedom and liberty. We need to start electing officials who do not believe that it is their duty to command and control every little nuance in the daily lives of citizens and businesses.
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www.Shahab2010.com