Fremont City Council revisited the idea of a citywide ban on plastic bags and polystyrene containers during a Tuesday evening work session following a presentation of research findings from the Fremont Environmental Services Department.

The idea to ban plastic bags and polystyrene was originally suggested by Councilman Bob Wieckowski at a Jan. 22 council meeting.

During that meeting, Wieckowski asked his fellow council members to direct city staff to review the pros and cons of regulating plastic bags and polystyrene containers and consider the use of recyclable or degradable materials.

Kathy Cote, the city's environmental services director, said there are two types of polystyrene materials commonly used: expanded polystyrene more commonly known as Styrofoam and solid polystyrene, which is used by many fast food restaurants for packaging.

Cote explained there are benefits to using Styrofoam, including durability, it's inexpensive, and it takes fewer resources to produce compared to alternative materials.

However, the cons outweigh the pros, she said. Styrofoam not only ends up as enormous litter and pollution, it's also harmful to wildlife and marine life, creates greenhouse gases, presents a possible human health issue, and is derived from petroleum.

Alternatives to Styrofoam the city could encourage businesses to use include paper, compostables, plastic and aluminum.

All four of these alternatives are either recyclable or compostable, however they are also more expensive to produce, create greenhouse gases, and could create contamination if not cleaned thoroughly before they're recycled.

Cote said 14 California cities are in the process of banning Styrofoam, including San Francisco, Oakland, Santa Monica and Capitola.

Laguna Beach will be the 14th city to implement a ban, which takes effect July 1.

City of Santa Barbara has decided to delay banning the material, instead opting to look into an organics collection program. Cote said city staff is recommending the council pursue this option.

Cote said plastic bags are also inexpensive to produce, as well as convenient.

But like Styrofoam, the cons outweigh the pros. Plastic bags create litter, are harmful to wildlife and marine life, they are non-biodegradable, made from a petroleum-based non-renewable resource and are difficult to recycle. Cote said less than 5 percent of all plastic bags manufactured are actually recyclable.

Alternatives to plastic bags include paper bags, compostable bags or reusable bags.

However, while paper bags are recyclable and biodegradable, they're also the most expensive to produce and create greenhouse gases. Compostable bags, while biodegradable, create litter, can't be recycled and contaminate the plastic bag stream.

Reusable bags take fewer resources to manufacture, but they're less convenient. However, Cote recommended the city look into the use of reusable bags.

"They're a very beneficial way to go because you're not constantly introducing new bags into the environment," she said.

So far two cities have banned plastic bags, including San Francisco. City of Oakland is engaged in a lawsuit over the ban it imposed, and City of Fairfax adopted a ban and then backed off when a lawsuit was threatened there.

Fremont City Attorney Harvey Levine said there is now an initiative moving forward in that city to implement a ban.

Fremont's options, according to Cote, are to impose its own ban, impose a program promoting reusable bags, or implement voluntary goals for businesses but implement a ban if goals aren't met.

The city also has the option to support several pending state legislative efforts, including Assembly Bill 904, which prohibits food providers from distributing disposable packaging unless it's compostable or recyclable; or AB 1972, which tightens standards for items labeled compostable.

Other pending legislative measures include AB 2058, which allows stores to charge a fee for plastic bags; and AB 2071, which would give enforcement power to local governments to ensure accurate labeling of the compostability of plastic products.

The city's final option is to enforce AB 2449, which passed in 2006 and took effect July 1, 2007.

The bill states stores of a certain size must take plastic bags back for recycling and offer reusable bags, and prohibits local governments from imposing a plastic bag fee.

Ryan Kenney, a representative of the Progressive Bag Affiliates of the American Chemistry Council, said simply banning plastic bags was not the way to go.

He said the bags, although they are hard to recycle, could still be reused.

"There is a lot of demand for plastic bags today," he said. "There is a company called Trex that recycles bags into decking materials. You can do something with these bags and we urge you not to impose a ban."

Tom Knox, a representative of the Plastic Food Service Group, which also is affiliated with the American Chemistry Council, also urged the council to reconsider a ban.

"In my experience, most restaurants will switch to paper or compostable plastics," he said. "A ban is usually the last step."

The council is scheduled to further discuss the plastic bag and Styrofoam issue at a meeting in the near future.