An ordinance banning polystyrene, or Styrofoam, food packaging containers that was passed by the city council in 2021 will finally go into effect on July 1 of next year.
“This was passed by the city council in 2021 and it was stalled because of Covid, and now Covid is gone” said Ward 1 Councillor Joanne McKenna, who sponsored the motion for the ordinance. “We gave leniency to the companies that are still using polystyrene.”
McKenna said she spoke to inspectional services director Michael Wells about beginning to enforce the ordinance on July 1, 2025.
McKenna said polystyrenes are not biodegradable and take 500 years to decompose. She added that animals do not recognize polystyrene as an artificial material and will eat it mistaking it for food.
“In 1986, the EPA released a report that listed the polystyrene manufacturing process as the fifth largest source in the world of hazardous waste,” said McKenna. “If the public health impact of polystyrene isn’t enough, the environmental effects are substantial.”
There are a number of alternative ways people can package takeout food that doesn’t involve polystyrene containers, she said.
“I’m trying to help the environment, and I think that this is one of the ways that we can do this,” she said.
Wells said the initial motion was delayed because small businesses were feeling the impact of the Covid pandemic in 2021.
“We did not want to put an additional impact on them and additional expenses,” he said.
Shortly after the pandemic, restaurants and other businesses were also hit with inflation and rising costs.
“We did not feel comfortable at the time asking them to increase additional expenses during already tough times,” Welles said.
The inspectional services department will begin enforcing the ordinance on July 1 of next year, Wells said, and will soon begin getting the word out to local businesses.
McKenna noted that she also made the motion to ban plastic bags in the city, and that it has made a significant difference in Revere.
“If we can help this environment just a speck, we are doing our job,” she said.
