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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2017 - 2018
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | June 5, 2018 03:27 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Tim Briggs |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Legislation - Polystyrene Food Containers |
| In the near future, I plan to introduce legislation that would prohibit food establishments from dispensing prepared food to customers in polystyrene food service containers. According to the environmental organization, No More Styrofoam, roughly 50 billion pounds of expanded polystyrene foam (more commonly known as styrofoam) is deposited in landfills annually. By volume, styrofoam is made up of roughly 98 percent air and, in most cases, is not cost-effective to store or ship since a mass quantity of the material requires a large amount of storage space. Unfortunately, discarded styrofoam leads to the pollution of local waterways and the world’s oceans, and its particles are responsible for causing widespread poisoning and killing of birds, marine life, and microorganisms. In addition, as a material that is resistant to the sun’s rays, it may take up to one million years for styrofoam to naturally decompose. Please join me in supporting this important legislation to reduce the amount of polystyrene materials entering our waterways and natural environment. |
Introduced as HB2560