Styrofoam SUCKS!! Here’s why;

Styrofoam is the trade name for EPS Expanded Polystyrene, and it’s a kind of plastic that leaches toxins into food and beverage containers made from it. Styrene and toxins from plastics are found in an alarming high percentage of the human population. Our petition would ask that polystyrene foam cups, containers and service-ware be banned at all food and beverage businesses and services in the state of Oregon. Read on for more reasons why a ban is critical and please sign our petition!

Benzene and Dioxins are ingredients used in making Styrofoam.  Benzene is a carcinogenic that’s an occupational hazard, even causing leukemia in severe cases, according to EPA. Dioxins in polystyrene cause immune and hormonal problems and affect fetal development as an occupational hazard to workers exposed to it.

Hot foods and liquids actually start a partial breakdown of Polystyrene foam (Styrofoam), causing some toxins to be absorbed into our bloodstream and tissue. Polystyrene food containers leach the toxin Styrene when they come into contact with warm food or drink, alcohol, oils and acidic foods causing human contamination and pose a health risk to people.  Avoid drinking tea with lemon, coffee with dairy cream, fruit juices, alcoholic beverages and wine from Styrofoam cups. Red wine will instantly dissolve the Styrene monomer.  Don’t eat oily foods from Styrofoam containers.

In packaged foods with the addition of heat (such as microwave temperatures), vitamin A will decompose and produce m-xylene, toluene, and 2,6-dimethylnaphthalene. Toluene will aggressively dissolve polystyrene, making it an unsuitable package for containing or micro waving products that contain vitamin A (beta-carotene).

It’s harmful in many other ways. Polystyrene foam  can take 1000 or more years to degrade.  Lightweight and fragile, it breaks up not down, easily floating through gutters into waterways and composes most of what marine debris is made of. It’s ingested by marine life and other wildlife harming or killing them. Plastics Ingested by fish end up in our food chain.

We understand recycling is important but it’s not the solution. Recycling facilities are few and far away from the majority of the state’s population and most single use polystyrene food and beverage containers, cups and service ware will not be recycled. It ends up as street-road side litter, polluting waterways and oceans, ends up in land fill or incinerated adding more pollutants in the air. That SUCKS!

Cost analysis and studies prove there’s marine-friendly alternatives that cost businesses just pennies more per item than polystyrene foam products.  Cities and municipalities that have banned polystyrene and other single use plastics see substantial savings. That saved money can be spent else where since a lot less money is allocated to street-sidewalk, gutter, water way and coastal cleanups.

Making it policy to replace Polystyrene with marine friendly, recycled paper content products and using durables and/or reusables, is a way to continue on a path to reducing toxic single use plastic waste and pollution.

Oregon, join the many states, cities, municipalities and countries that already banned polystyrene foam food and beverage products. SUCK LESS! Sign our petition. By 2050 there could be more plastic than fish in our oceans!! It’s critical to pass policies to stop using single use polystyrene foam for food and beverage consumption.

Thank you in advance for SUCKING LESS by demanding Oregon Governor pass legislation to not allow EPS, polystyrene foam (styrofoam) cups, dishes, containers in food services and businesses and by signing our petition So Long Styrofoam

The StrawlessOregon team

StrawlessOregon.org

#SuckLess#BeatPlasticPollution#SoLongStyrofoam