California about to ban plastifoam?

California is "on the verge" of passing a statewide ban on Styrofoam, Michael Oshman, executive director of the Green Restaurant Association, told a thinly populated room of restaurateurs at the New York restaurant show.

Oshman also warned that legislation discouraging or banning the use of plastic bags is sweeping the nation.

Oshman was addressing why restaurateurs should consider making their operations and menus more environmentally friendly. One of the advantages of acting now, he stressed, was looking like a forward-thinker before green measures are mandated by law. "It's going to happen anyway. Why not look like a hero?" he said.

And rest assure, he addedr, green "legislation is going to shoot up even more than it has already."

Oshman noted that a number of municipalities in California have already banned plastifoam. They include several cities in the Bay Area. The next step would be rolling the ban across the state, and asserted the state government is already close to doing so.