Food service businesses of all types have been using plastic containers with lids for decades. The containers come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes and are used as: take out food clamshells, deli containers, water and soda bottles, coffee cups, personal care bottles (e.g., shampoo or body wash bottles), and a great number of food items lining the shelves of grocery stores (e.g., milk cartons, food trays for produce, yogurt cups).

Traditionally, these items have been made from petroleum, but increasingly a new generation of containers and lids are available that are made from renewable resources including polylactic acid (corn), bagasse, paper, and wheat straw. These materials can be used to make food containers and lids that are certified 100% compostable according to ASTM D-6400 and D-6868, and can thus be composted in a commercial composting facility.

So with that, here are:

6 Reasons to Switch from Plastic Containers to Compostable Containers

First, Styrofoam is a brand name and is a trademark of the Dow Company. The scientific name for the material is polystyrene or expanded polystyrene, often abbreviated EPS. For the purposes of this article however, we will refer to polystyrene as Styrofoam.

Second, when we say that recycling styrofoam shouldn’t be done, by no means are we advocating that you purchase lots of Styrofoam and throw it in the landfill. Actually quite the opposite. What we mean is that you shouldn’t recycle styrofoam… because you shouldn’t be using it or buying it in the first place.

Reasons why you should never use Styrofoam

1. Your Health – The primary chemical component of polystyrene is…drum roll – styrene. Studies have shown that over time small amounts of styrene can leak into your food & beverage – particularly hot food and beverage. If you’re a frequent drinker of coffee for example, drinking 3 a day in polystyrene cups, you could consumer as much as an entire cup of ‘styrene’ over the course of a 3 year period. Styrene is also noted as a possible carcinogen by the EPA and the International Agency for Research on Cancer and studies suggest that it is a disruptor of normal hormone functions and may be linked to

I was googling expanded polystyrene (typically known as “styrofoam”) food packaging bans the other day searching for a list of all the cities in the US that had banned polystyrene (aka PS). I was having quite a tough time finding the answer (though I eventually did… as any persistent googler does).

As a result, I wanted to draw up a quick post with the findings. Enjoy!

There are 100+ total polystyrene bans across cities in the US. I’ve listed most of the major cities & counties with polystyrene bans below along with reference links to either the ordinances themselves or articles on the bans. The “effective date” for the ban is also provided.
Most of the full bans are for polystyrene food ware (e.g., to go containers) and force restaurants and businesses to use recycled plastic or compostable alternatives (awesome!) to cut down on trash and landfilling. The partial bans typically ban the use of styrofoam at any city owned building or event. If we’re missing any cities or counties, let us know!

Alameda, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 1/1/2008
Albany City – Styrofoam Banned – 9/1/2008
Aliso Viejo, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 6/2/2004
Berkeley, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 6/1/1990
Calabasas, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 4/1/2008
Capitola, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 6/1/2009
Carmel, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 1/1/1989
Emeryville, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 3/1/2007
Fairfax, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 1/1/1993
Freeport, ME – Styrofoam Banned – 1/1/1990
Glen Cove, NY – Styrofoam Banned – 6/1/1989
Hecules, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 5/1/2008
Huntington Beach, CA – Partial Styrofoam Ban – 4/19/2004
Laguna Beach, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 7/1/2008
Los Angeles, CA – Partial Styrofoam Ban –
Malibu, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 7/1/2005
Milbrae, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 1/1/2008
Monterey, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 8/17/2009
Newport Beach, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 6/1/2009
Oakland, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 1/1/2007
Pacific Grove, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 6/1/2008
Pacifica, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 1/1/2010
Palo Alto, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 4/22/2010
Pittsburg, CA – Partial Styrofoam Ban – 1/1/1993
Portland, OR – Styrofoam Banned – 6/12/1990
Rahway, NJ – Styrofoam Banned – 12/1/1996
Richmond, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 7/1/2010
San Bruno, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 4/1/2010
San Clemente, CA – Partial Styrofoam Ban – 3/1/2004
San Francisco, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 6/1/2007
San Jose, CA – Partial Styrofoam Ban – 11/10/2009
San Juan County, WA – Styrofoam Banned – 4/22/2010
San Mateo County – Styrofoam Banned – 4/1/2008
Santa Cruz, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 10/18/2008
Santa Monica, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 2/9/2008
Scotts Valley, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 6/17/2009
Seattle, WA – Styrofoam Banned – 7/1/2010
Sonoma, CA – Partial Styrofoam Ban – 1/1/1989
Suffolk County, NY – Styrofoam Banned – 1/1/1998
Ventura County, CA – Partial Styrofoam Ban – 10/1/2004
West Hollywood, CA – Styrofoam Banned – 7/1/1990

Other cities currently considering bans:
Chicago, IL – Proposed Styrofoam Ban
New York, NY – Partial Styrofoam Ban Proposed
Boston, MA – Proposed Styrofoam Ban
Philadelphia, PA – Proposed Styrofoam Ban