Maryland Sets Presedence For Banning Styrafoam
In a historical and much needed moment for our environment, Maine became the first state to ban Styrofoam food containers. The bill, which was signed into law on Tuesday and goes into effect in January 2021, prohibits convenience stores, restaurants, grocery stores, farm stands, and coffee shops from using containers made of polystyrene, otherwise commonly known as Styrofoam.
Polystyrene cannot be recycled like other products and takes decades before it will eventually break down into particles. But in the meantime, the Styrofoam products will simply litter and pollute the environment, hurt wildlife and negatively affect the economy.
According to the Natural Resources Council of Maine, foam food containers made of polystyrene are among the 10 most commonly littered items in the U.S., and more than 256 million pieces of disposable Styrofoam products are used every year in Maine.
Maine’s move is just one of many larger cities and states trying to implement ways to cut down on pollution. So far California, Hawaii, and New York have all passed legislation banning single-use plastic bags, although New York’s law doesn’t go into effect until 2020. Plastic straw bans were also a hot topic last year, with several cities passing plastic straw ordinances.
By: Maytinee Kramer
