Maryland Calls For Foam Ban
The Maryland Legislature has approved bills to ban polystyrene — commonly known as plastic foam — cups and food containers. If a final measure is passed and signed by the governor, Maryland would be the first state to implement such a ban, environmental group Natural Resources Defense Council says.
Democratic Delegate Brooke Lierman, the primary sponsor of the House bill, said banning foam products is the first step to lowering people’s reliance on single-use plastics.
“Single-use plastics are overrunning our oceans and bays and neighborhoods,” Lierman told CNN. “We need to take dramatic steps to start stemming our use and reliance on them … to leave future generations a planet full of wildlife and green space.”
Although Lierman proposed the bill twice before, the public opinion has now shifted more in a new direction where they recognize the problem with plastic.
“We see plastics in our neighborhoods, in our riverbeds and streams — it is ubiquitous,” Lierman said. “We’ve seen major companies like Dunkin’ Donuts say they’re going to phase out” the foam.
This may sound like a great idea environmentally, but not everyone agrees with the measure. It’s unclear whether Republican Gov. Larry Hogan will sign the bill, and Cailey Locklair Tolle, president of the Maryland Retailers Association, said such a law could hurt Maryland businesses. The American Chemistry Council, the trade association of chemical manufacturers, also voiced opposition to the legislation.
By: Maytinee Kramer
