DC: Going “green” is one of the hottest trends of the last decade. Celebrated every Earth Day, eco-fads nowadays range from electric cars to tiny homes to “organic” foods and renewable energy mandates for public utilities.
Gaining traction in state and local policy circles recently are bans on expanded polystyrene (EPS), also known as Styrofoam or food service foam. More than 100 U.S. cities and counties in 11 states have passed local ordinances that restrict or prohibit outright the use of foam containers, utensils and packaging materials. Such edicts, not surprisingly, started as early as 1989 in California when Sonoma and Carmel became the first two cities to ban plastic foam containers. More recently, Hawaii has prohibited food service foam on the Big Island and Maui.
It turns out, however, that banning EPS doesn’t have the positive environmental impact supporters and politicians hope to achieve. more here
I remember the hysteria over Styrofoam “eating up the ozone layer” as we kept on rocken in the free world. That was well before Global Warming.
Nice to see the Chicken Little crowd diversifying and some are going retro.
@Pelopidas: “…styrofoam boxes for the ozone layer…”
If you thought he was an environut back then, you oughtta hear his old ass now. Off his rocker in the free world.
I remember the greasy puddle in the bottom of my Quarter Pounder’ styrofoam box. Now, the Quarter Pounder’s box is dry cardboard. Like the Quarter Pounder.
Personally, I enjoy watching the surprised look on the people at the office when the microwave melts their stryofoam container…
10-12 years ago I invested in a company making biodegradable containers. still not ready for primetime.
Styrofoam litter is a problem now, but only because of the homeless; we never had the litter problem until the homeless population skyrocketed under Obama’s “leadership”. Also, styrofoam food containers are a small percentage of total styrofoam production which is mainly packaging of crap from China (TVs, computers, toasters, everything). It is a pain in the ass to dispose of because you can’t compress it, and most refuse companies won’t recycle it.
Styrofoam has better insulating properties than paper or plastic, much better for fountain drinks.
Along the same story line, go have a look at how solar panels sit in dumps leaking sulfuric acid and phosphine gas. That gets into drinking water. Also the creation of them generates abundant CO2.
I refuse to drink anything hot or even warm out of a styrofoam or plastic cup. No way, no how.
Whenever I hear green or renewable these days, I get a mental image of a roll of visqueen toilet paper with each sheet emblazoned with Al Gore’s face and:
Rinse & Reuse
Save the Planet
@Anonymous May 21, 2018 at 12:21 pm
> 10-12 years ago I invested in a company making biodegradable containers. still not ready for primetime.
“Styrofoam” is biodegradable. The process is just, well, ewww…
IF you consume less garbage (media and physical) the less you will worry…or care.
Question is how does ocean salt water react to styro/plastic/oil vs paper?
IOW what happened to the BP accident in the Gulf?
Did it clean…itself?