Councilmembers Want to Ban Styrofoam
Montgomery County Councilmembers George Leventhal and Hans Riemer are expected to introduce a bill Tuesday that could change the way you get your take-out food or even host your next picnic.
The bill, set to be introduced by the Councilmembers at 11 a.m, requires the use of recyclable packaging in food service packaging and prohibits the sale of styrofoam food service products like plates and cups.
According to the bill, the county would prohibit food service businesses (restaurants, grocery stores, institutional cafeterias, etc.) from using “expanded polystyrene (foam) food service products,” such as containers, plates, cups, trays, egg cartons, effective Jan. 1,2016. Products packaged outside the county before receipt by the food service business, and materials used to package raw meat, seafood, or poultry are exempt from the prohibition.
The bill would also prohibit the sale of polystyrene loose fill packaging, commonly referred to as “packing peanuts.”
Councilmember Riemer, in a Sept. 2 memo to his fellow Councilmembers regarding the bill, wrote, “This is important because foam, which is a petroleum-based plastic, is a meaningful share of the litter and pollution found in our watersheds. Over time, discarded foam breaks down into small pieces, but it does not completely dissolve and it is very hard to clean up. When it is ingested by marine life, it causes harm. For human health, the National Research Council has recently ‘upheld the listing of styrene as ‘reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen.’”
Bill 41-14 builds upon a Council resolution approved in 2012 that expressed support for the elimination of expanded polystyrene packaging in County Government cafeterias and encouraged other public and private food service facilities to also consider the elimination of the use of styrofoam packaging.
Related:
Styrofoam Ban Goes Into Effect This Year
This year marks the start of a complete ban on the use of styrofoam products in Montgomery County. Take-out containers, bowls, cups, plates, trays, egg cartons and any other products made of styrofoam are banned for use within the county from January 1, 2016. Signed into law in January of last year, the ban prohibits the […]
Proposed Styrofoam Ban to Be Discussed by County Committee Today
A Montgomery County Council committee is scheduled to discuss today a bill that would ban the use of styrofoam as packaging for most food products. The meeting is to be held at 2:30 p.m. in the Third Floor Conference Room before the Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Environment Committee, which is chaired by Councilmember Roger Berliner […]
Councilmembers Want to Ban Styrofoam
Montgomery County Councilmembers George Leventhal and Hans Riemer are expected to introduce a bill Tuesday that could change the way you get your take-out food or even host your next picnic. The bill, set to be introduced by the Councilmembers at 11 a.m, requires the use of recyclable packaging in food service packaging and prohibits […]
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