Styrofoam

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For the music band of the same name see Styrofoam (artist).

Styrofoam is a trademark name for extruded polystyrene thermal insulation material (often referred to as EPS), manufactured by Dow Chemical Company. Expanded polystyrene is not easily recyclable due to its light weight and low scrap value. It is generally not accepted in curbside programs.

Styrofoam takes a very long time to decompose in the environment and has been documented to caused starvation in birds and other marine wildlife. According to the California Coastal Commission, it is a principle component of marine debris.

Invented by The Dow Chemical Company more than 50 years ago and identified worldwide by the distinctive blue color, STYROFOAM products are the most widely recognized brand in insulation today. In the early 1900s, The Dow Chemical Company invented a process for extruding polystyrene to achieve a closed cell foam that resists moisture. Recognizing its superior insulating properties, buoyancy and "unsinkability," it was originally adopted in 1942 by the Coast Guard for use in a six-man life raft. Dow brand styrofoam includes a variety of building materials (including insulated sheathing and housewrap), pipe insulation and floral and craft products.

The word styrofoam is often used by the general public as a generic term to indicate any brand of polystyrene foam. Coffee cups, cooler or packaging material are typically white in color and are made of expanded polystyrene beads. The styrofoam containers used for packaging meals, is white with usually three different sections.

A CIWMB (California Integrated Waste Management Board) Report finds that “in the categories of energy consumption, greenhouse gas effect, and total environmental effect, EPS’s environmental impacts were second highest, behind aluminum.”[1]

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[edit] Bans

The city of Berkeley, California was one of the first cities in the world to ban polystyrene food packaging (called Styrofoam in the media announcements).[2][3] It was also banned in Portland OR, and Suffolk County NY in 1990.[4] Now, over 20 US cities have banned polystyrene food packaging, including Oakland CA on Jan 1st 2007.[5] San Francisco will introduce a ban on the packaging on June 1st 2007:[6]

"This is a long time coming," Peskin said Monday. "Polystyrene foam products rely on nonrenewable sources for production, are nearly indestructible and leave a legacy of pollution on our urban and natural environments. If McDonald's could see the light and phase out polystyrene foam more than a decade ago, it's about time San Francisco got with the program." Board of Supervisors President, Aaron Peskin[7]


A campaign to achieve the first ban of polystyrene foam from the food & beverage industry in Canada has been launched in Toronto as of January 2007, by local non-profit organization NaturoPack.[8]

Other cities that have banned expanded polystyrene include Portland, Oakland, and Santa Monica. The California legislature is currently considering a bill which would effectively ban expanded polystyrene in takeout food packaging state-wide.[9]

[edit] Sources

  1. ^ CIWMB Report
  2. ^ The Berkeley Daily Planet
  3. ^ Styrofoam food packaging banned in Oakland
  4. ^ Californians Against Waste website
  5. ^ San Francisco Chronical article, June 28, 2006
  6. ^ San Francisco Chronical article, November 7, 2006
  7. ^ San Francisco Chronical Article, June 27, 2006
  8. ^ Naturopack Campaign Page
  9. ^ AB 904

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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