Officials launch aggressive new method to enforce Styrofoam ban: 'Difficult to collect'

Since the beginning of the year, the sale and distribution of expanded polystyrene, also known as Styrofoam, has been banned in California. To ensure the ban is effective, the state has launched a website where civilians can report violations.

According to KUSI, producers of EPS were required to achieve a 25% recycling rate of Styrofoam products by the end of last year. As this rate was not met, the ban and its enforcement are the next steps to address this issue.

Similar bans have been initiated or proposed across the U.S. In Virginia, EPS has been banned for larger businesses, and the ban will affect small businesses starting in 2026. A similar ban in Delaware was passed back in 2023 and went into effect this year.

Across all these Styrofoam bans is a similar ethos — the material poses a great risk to human and environmental health. Expanded polystyrene is a plastic product that falls apart easily and is jam-packed with added chemicals. This means EPS products pose an increasing risk of causing plastic pollution, as they break down into microplastics, enter water supplies, and harm animals.

"Once fragmented, polystyrene is difficult to collect and can persist in the environment indefinitely," Beyond Plastics reported.

While pushback on single-use and other plastic bans often includes the difficulty in upholding them, California's webpage for reporting infractions is a great step for making sure this Styrofoam ban is as effective as possible.

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The site is only for reporting producers in California neglecting the ban and is not for reporting individual businesses or people using EPS. Although the ban will eventually likely cover everyone, the importance now is being placed on the people up top, causing a trickle-down impact without over-patrolling individuals and small businesses.

To do your part in keeping plastic material out of landfills and the environment, you can implement everyday alternatives to common plastic items. To avoid using Styrofoam, consider bringing your own reusable to-go box to restaurants.

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