SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (IRN) — There is a push in Springfield to adopt legislation which would phase out single-use plastic polystyrene foam food ware.
The Coalition for Plastic Reduction, which includes more than 35 organizations, wants to phase out polystyrene foam food ware by 2024.
Abe Scarr, Illinois director for the Illinois Public Interest Research Group, said the single-use containers are not ideal for recycling.
“Less than one percent of it ever gets recycled, so we’re using something for maybe 5 or 10 minutes and then putting it out into the world for hundreds and hundreds of years,” Scarr told The Center Square.
Eight states and about 200 cities have enacted bans on polystyrene foam containers.
State Sen. Laura Fine, D-Glenview and state Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, D-Glenview, are the chief sponsors of the legislation in the Senate and House.
The Coalition for Plastic Reduction estimates 22 million pounds of plastic enter the Great Lakes each year and just over half of that ends up in Lake Michigan alone.
“Lake Michigan is one of Illinois’ greatest assets. But plastic pollution is a major threat to Lake Michigan and to the people and wildlife that depend on it. We applaud Senator Fine and Representative Gong-Gershowitz for introducing legislation to phase out the use of single-use plastic polystyrene foam food ware. This bill is an important step forward in reducing plastic pollution and protecting Lake Michigan and the people and wildlife that rely on the lake,” said Andrea Densham with the Alliance for the Great Lakes.
State Rep. Mike Coffey, R-Springfield, who owns a restaurant, told The Center Square he is not a fan of such a mandate.
“In my personal restaurant I have very little Styrofoam, and just because they brought it up I will look to see how I can eliminate it, but I don’t need the government to come in and tell me what to do,” said Coffey.
In the legislation, smaller establishments and those who serve populations in need would have a longer timeline to phase out polystyrene foam.
By KEVIN BESSLER for the Illinois Radio Network
