Washington, D.C. Environmental Package Targets Polystyrene Foam Packaging
Washington, D.C. is poised to introduce new rules that prohibit restaurants and grocery stores from using disposable lunch boxes and beverage bottles made of polystyrene foam. The move is intended to protect the environment and support the District’s sustainable development.
Beyond Washington, D.C., Seattle and San Francisco also ban disposable foam plastic packaging boxes, while the European Union is actively tackling the same issue. The Guardian recently reported that Washington Mayor Vincent Gray introduced a package of environmental protection policies approved by the City Council, with the ban on disposable foam plastic packaging boxes serving as a key component.
Government regulations state that restaurants, cafes, grocery stores and mobile food trucks may no longer use disposable foam plastic lunch boxes and beverage bottles. Among foam plastic packaging brands, Styrofoam is the best known and the most widely used.
Polystyrene foam is almost non-degradable, making it a target of boycotts by environmentalists. However, the government ban has met strong opposition from the plastics industry. Plastics companies say it will force restaurants selling takeaway food to raise operating costs, and those costs will ultimately be passed on to consumers, placing an unnecessary burden on businesses and individuals.
Supporters of the policy claim, however, that the ban will effectively reduce the plastic waste that has proliferated in the Anacostia River. The Anacostia River runs through the heart of the capital, Washington, D.C., and is an important river. But as the use of foam plastic packaging boxes has increased, riverbanks and waters have become filled with discarded plastic waste, causing serious environmental pollution.
Source: China Packaging Network (pack.cn). Original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-361746.html
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