Video: Seattle City Council gets earful on Styrofoam ban

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SEATTLE - The answer to "paper or plastic?" may depend on how much you want to spend, in Seattle at least.

The Seattle City Council and Mayor Greg Nickels plan a public forum at 7 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall to discuss adding a bag fee to your grocery bill and banning Styrofoam products.

The council will discuss proposed legislation which would ban Styrofoam to-go containers and charge a 20-cent fee for each bag you use at the store.

The idea is to encourage reusable, rather than disposable, bag use.

But the groundbreaking environmental move has some restaurants in a panic.

At World Wrapps, they would have to find a new way to keep their popular smoothies from melting. The drinks are served in Styrofoam cups.

"I don't mind if it's melted and warmer, it tastes good that way," said Diane Gainier, customer.

At the Queen Anne Café, Styrofoam is a staple. Owners would have to find a new way to dish up food "to go."

The Seattle Coalition for Responsible Recycling says it will hold a press conference immediately proceeding the meeting Tuesday. They say the fee would cause an undue burden on struggling businesses.

But city officials say the objective is not to penalize people.

"It's not saying you're bad people and we're trying to get rid of you. The objective is to get everyone moving in the right direction," said Richard Conlin, Seattle City Council Chair.

Restaurants and grocery stores would have get rid of Styrofoam or other polystyrene containers in January.

If approved, the city would impose a 20-cent fee for disposable shopping bags at groceries and other stores, starting next year. It would apply to paper or plastic bags.

The city says the fee would encourage the use of reusable bags and reduce the number of disposable bags in the city by half.

In July 2010, the ban would include plastics, including utensils and deli containers. Everything would have to be biodegradable.