Environmentally Preferable Food Packaging and Polystyrene Ban
COUNTY OF MARIN ENVIRONMENTALLY PREFERABLE FOOD PACKAGING & POLYSTYRENE BAN ORDINANCE Effective January 1, 2010; enforcement begins June 2010 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS What does the Ordinance Require? What’s Wrong With Plastic? All retail food vendors, restaurants, and Plastics in general are difficult to recycle County facilities can no longer provide due to the lack of an after-market demand prepared or take-out food in, on or with for the materials. disposable food packaging that contains Plastics do not biodegrade, but instead polystyrene (Styrofoam). photo-degrade. The plastic particles Biodegradable become smaller and smaller, eventually food packaging microscopic, and accumulate in aquatic is required when systems. Plastics and polystyrene can be using disposable found across the spectrum of the aquatic food packaging, food chain, from the cells of plankton up to which includes the land-mass sized accumulation in the cold cups, lids, Pacific Gyre, pieces often mistaken by birds plates, hinge containers, bowls, trays, and fish as food. That is how plastic ends cartons, cups, cutlery, straws, bags. up in fish caught for human consumption. What’s Wrong with Polystyrene? Which Containers are Allowed? Styrene, a compound in Styrofoam, is a Durable Ware: The best choice for the known hazardous substance and a environment is to re-use, so consider suspected carcinogen. It leaches from washable food service whenever possible. containers into the food or liquid it Bio-plastics and compostables , certified contains, and is detectable in the tissue by the Biodegradable Products Institute of every man, woman & child in the U.S. (BPI). (See reverse). In California, 165,000 tons of polystyrene Uncoated Paper and Coated Paper, if are used for food packaging annually.
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