In continuing to pursue the goal of creating a sustainable community, Issaquah is considering joining a league of other cities and counties which ban the use of polystyrene, styrofoam, food containers.

To help Issaquah businesses understand the proposed new rule, which the city council will consider in the next several months, the city and the Chamber of Commerce held a forum this week so business owners could see the different options available and talk with local vendors who have already made the switch.

The Issaquah City Council will consider the proposal later this summer after several of the council’s committees reviewed the proposed ordinance. If the ordinance is approved, Issaquah will join other cities at the front of the pack in changing the way customers carry out food.

At the beginning of this year Seattle joined the list of places where restaurants and grocery stores must find new ways to package food without using containers made of polystyrene. In July of 2010 Seattle will add to the list of banned products, the foam trays for raw meats and seafood. The packaging is particularly difficult to recycle because of increased costs to do so, so it usually ends up in land fills.

The state legislature of California recently shelved a similar bill which would ban the containers across the state, where already 30 cities and counties have created such a ban. Portland, Oregon and several cities throughout New York have also stopped the use of the containers in an effort to help manage waste.

Tutta Bella, the Seattle based Neapolitian pizzeria with a location in Issaquah, has been using compostable containers since they opened their doors in 2004. Owner Joe Fugere said using these containers and products has been part of a gradual evolution at the restaurants.

When they first started fewer compostable products were available, but as items have been tested and become easier to obtain, Tutta Bella added them to their inventory.

Fugere said it started because everyone, from the owners down to the servers shared a passion for doing something about the waste.

Right now everything the restaurant sends out the doors to-go is compostable, except for hot beverage lids as the compostable ones are not yet up to par. But the lids Tutta Bella uses for hot beverages are recyclable.

Fugere said he is particularly excited about Issaquah joining the list of cities looking at banning polystyrene.

“I’m so enthusiastic about it,” he said.

While he would love to see an immediate ban, Fugere knows it will take time for other businesses to figure out what works best and how it can be implemented at their location.

The proposed rule would mean increased costs for many local small businesses.

Lori Steendahl, the store director at the Front Street Market, said while the store has switched over everything they can to biodegradable products, a major snag is still ahead of them. No one offers a product that meets the proposed requirement for meat containers.

“We’re doing everything we can to be environmentally friendly,” said Steendahl, but that doesn’t make the transition any easier.

She said she wishes the city officials could be on the other side and see the effect it is going to have.

“Especially for smaller businesses, it’s going to cost a lot of money,” she said. “It’s the smart way to go to do the right thing for the environment, but we’re making it more costly to the consumer. We should make it easier for the consumer. Sometimes I think they need to be more sympathetic.”

Being at the forefront of such a movement does mean companies and municipalities are figuring things out as they go, testing out different ideas and finding what works.

For Cedar Grove, an all organic composting company based in Seattle, it was the little things which meant collaborating to create a new blueprint.

When restaurants first started featuring compostable containers, they quickly discovered they couldn’t put the biodegradable containers in the recycle bins because of simple logistics. Truck drivers picking up the recycling had no easy visual way of determining whether or not an item was recyclable, since the products look basically the same.

Cedar Grove, along with manufacturers and distributors, have been working together to develop a system of color-coding the compostable containers. Now many feature a brown band or are entirely brown.

“Its like the Good Housekeeping seal for composters,” said Susan Thoman of Cedar Grove.

The company hopes the program can be translated onto the national scale, making it easier for companies, distributors and composters to get on board.