The Portola Valley Town Council last night (Wednesday, April 11) agreed to adopt a San Mateo County environmental ordinance that regulates Styofoam food containers, and support another now in the works that would restrict the use of single-use plastic bags at checkout stands.

The council -- with members Ted Driscoll and Jeff Aalfs absent -- adopted "by reference" a 2011 county ordinance that restricts food vendors from selling carryout food in containers made of polystyrene, often called Styrofoam. (The material cannot be recycled or re-used and contaminates roadsides, waterways and the ocean.)

Mayor Maryann Derwin and council members John Richards and Ann Wengert then voted to support the pending plastic bag restriction, which would require customers at checkout stands who don't have their own reusable bags to pay for paper ones. A majority on the Woodside Town Council voted to support this proposal in March.

Retailers affected by the polystyrene ban include food trucks that come to town, Roberts Market, the restaurant at the Alpine Hills Swim and Tennis Club, and the Alpine Inn, also known as Rossotti's.

Roberts and Alpine Hills are open and amenable to the change, Brandi de Garmeaux, the town's coordinator for environmental initiatives, told the council. The town will be contacting Rossotti's, and "has worked quite a bit" with the food trucks, Ms. de Garmeaux said.

In adopting this ordinance by reference, the town joins a regional effort managed and enforced by the county. Communities already involved include Half Moon Bay, Burlingame, Foster City and San Carlos. Redwood City and Menlo Park are considering joining, the report said.

"I think it's great," Ms. Wengert said before voting to support the proposed ban on single-use bags.

"I do, too," Mr. Richards said.

"It's about time," Mayor Derwin said.

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