STANDARDS
NCSS: Time, Continuity, and Change • People, Places, and Environments • Power, Authority, and Governance • Civic Ideals and Practices
Common Core: RH.6-8.1, RH.6-8.2, RH.6-8.4, RH.6-8.7, WHST.6-8.4, RI.6-8.1,RI.6-8.2, RI.6-8.4, RI.6-8.7, W.6-8.4
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U.S. & WORLD NEWS
Environment
The Styrofoam Shakedown
A growing number of states are banning restaurants from giving customers Styrofoam and other types of single-use plastic. Here’s why.
Should Styrofoam takeout containers be illegal? They are in Delaware. A law recently took effect in that state banning restaurants from giving out Styrofoam food packaging and other single-use plastic products.
The move is part of a growing trend to reduce single-use plastic, which can be challenging to recycle. Several states have enacted similar laws in recent years, and lawmakers in other states—including Connecticut—have considered expanding existing bans or adding new ones.
More than 400 million tons of plastic are produced globally each year, according to the United Nations Environment Programme. Single-use packaging makes up about 40 percent of that total, by some estimates.
Many single-use plastic items end up as litter that can get carried into storm drains or rivers that flow to the ocean. Plastic debris can harm marine animals that mistake it for food.
Single-use plastic bans can help, some researchers say. In Maryland, Styrofoam pollution on beaches dropped by about 65 percent after a state ban on that type of product, a study by the Ocean Conservancy found.
That’s why it’s important to act, explains Delaware State Senator Trey Paradee. “We have a responsibility . . . to reduce the amount of these harmful products,” he says.
—Sean Price
