May 29, 2007
Los Angeles County to Ban Styrofoam
Los Angeles County has recently passed a bill that will ban all styrofoam and products made of styrofoam to be used, produced or sold in stores within county limits.
Whittier Daily News writes
he board unanimously approved a measure Tuesday, co-sponsored by supervisors Gloria Molina and Yvonne Braithwaite Burke, to study a ban on all Styrofoam containers in county-owned facilities and unincorporated areas, home to about 1 million residents.
A report on the ban’s feasibility is expected before the board in 90 days.
Polystyrene, most commonly known by the brand name Styrofoam, is a petroleum-based product that is difficult to recycle and non-biodegradable. Its low cost makes it popular for use as food containers at restaurants throughout the world.
In the Southland, polystyrene has become “pervasive,” said Molina.
“It is estimated that billions of containers are used throughout Los Angeles County each year,” said Molina, adding that the product remains in the environment for centuries after its useful life. Santa Monica, Malibu, Berkeley and Suffolk County in New York have banned use of the material.
I do think this is a great move, however, the county will need to push to make eco-friendly alternatives more accessible to its residents!
via whittier daily news
image via thomasnet
Tags: Eco Friendly, Eco-Packaging, eco_friendly, food_containers, News, non_biodegradable, Politics, polystyrene, Reduce, styrofoam_containers
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Hey…this is such a great post…I am definately a proponant for removing styrofoam products…Styrofoam shouldn’t be made illegal…but removing consumer products such as throw away dishware…and using an alternative packing resource could help cut down on the harmful effects of styrofoam to the environment big time. It does have good uses in insulation, however, but styrofoam that ends up in landfills does not bio-degrade and is made from oil (a non-renewable energy source) so bravo to this post and read a little further…this is stuff more people should know about.
Each year in the United States (US), approximately “60 billion cups, 20 billion eating utensils and 25 billion plates”, all disposable, are used and sent to landfills and incinerators. It would be interesting to speculate on the amount of compost that could be made if all of these were compostable-biodegradable. With the numbers of disposable dishware being so high, even a slight reduction would be beneficial. Biodegradable products can reduce the mass of the landfill by as much as 30% (Polar Gruppen, North America (PGNA)11).Biodegradable Alternatives for Styrofoam and Plastics - A Study at St. Jerome’s
Comment by JT — July 1, 2007 @ 5:26 pm