The “Farewell to Foam Act” has been reintroduced in the US Congress.
The bill was brought forward by Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Representative Lloyd Doggett of Texas, accompanied by more than 70 cosponsors. This legislation aims to ban the sale and distribution of plastic foam food containers, loose-fill foam packaging such as packing peanuts as well as single-use foam coolers nationwide.
According to Oceana, the move enjoys strong support among the US people: A recent national poll of registered voters conducted by the nonpartisan polling firm Ipsos found that 78% of voters in the United States support policies to reduce single-use plastic foam.
The federal ban will follow the lead of many states across the nation. So far, 12 states have passed legislation reducing or banning the use of plastic foam. These include California, Colorado, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington, in addition to the District of Columbia.
Plastic foam, or expanded polystyrene, is made from fossil fuels and widely used in single-use food containers and packaging materials like packing peanuts and clamshells. Sadly, these are usually discarded after one use. Plastic foam fragments into smaller pieces that are hard to clean and quickly spread, causing long-term environmental pollution.
As one of the most prevalent plastics polluting beaches and waterways, plastic foam poses a significant threat to marine life, with animals like sea turtles and seabirds often mistaking it for food.
According to Oceana’s US Plastics Campaign Director Christy Leavitt:
“Plastic foam isn’t just polluting our beaches – it’s making its way into marine wildlife like sea turtles and even our own bodies. This problematic plastic harms public health during its production and use while fueling the climate crisis and polluting the air and waterways. Oceana applauds Senator Van Hollen and Representative Doggett for leading the way to phase out single-use plastic foam, an unnecessary, virtually unrecyclable product that hurts our oceans and health. Now it is time for Congress to wave ‘farewell to foam’ across the country.”
