Earth Day 1997
*
Polystyrene makes comeback as food packaging material
CHAD PATTESON/Emerald
After discontiuing the use of polystyrene in food packaging during the
1980s, many restaurants and franchises are using the material again.
r
By Allison Hewitt
Freelance Reporter
When knowledge about
the harmful effects of
the use and production
of Styrofoam surfaced in the mid
1980’s, the restaurant industry
was urged by environmentalists
to consider a more environmen
tally safe alternative. So, while
one form of Styrofoam (which is
actually the brand name for the
compound polystyrene) was
phased out, another was phased
in.
Although the kind of poly
styrene used now in most food
service establishments is made
without the use of chlorofluoro
carbons — chemicals that con
tribute to depletion of the ozone
— there is still some question
about the overall effectiveness of
polystyrene as an environmental
ly sound packaging material.
Chris Taylor, an OSPIRG mem
ber who helped implement the
Styrofoam ban in Portland food
service establishments, said while
the actual production process of
polystyrene has improved, there
are still problems with the post
consumer phase.
Taylor said although poly
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Paper cups that have a wax
coating on them can’t be
recycled at all, but polystyrene
is a totally recyclable product.
— Jason Landau
Andrew Smash's
-53
styrene is recyclable in theory,
most areas in the country do not
have the capabilities to recycle
the material.
“There are maybe one or two fa
cilities in the nation that take Sty
rofoam,” Taylor said. “The closest
one in our area is down in south
ern California, so any restaurant
around here that recycles it has to
have it hauled down there. So
there’s exhaust pollution to factor
in as well.”
Many restaurants have re
sponded to criticism from envi
ronmentalists by either phasing
out or greatly reducing the use of
polystyrene. McDonalds, for ex
ample, now uses polystyrene only
for its coffee cups and breakfast
platters — a big change from the
clam-shell foam containers that
dominated the fast-food industry
in the 1980s.
But some people claim the ben
efits of polystyrene are far greater
than many other packaging mate
rials, namely paper. Jason Lan
dau, owner of the Eugene restau
rant Andrew Smash’s, said
polystyrene is not only more cost
effective than paper products, it is
also recyclable.
“The real advantage for us is
that we can recycle it,” Landau
said. “Paper cups that have a wax
coating on them can’t be recycled
at all, but polystyrene is a totally
recyclable product. That’s really
important to us.”
While polystyrene is a recy
clable material, some argue that it
is simply recycled into an end-use
product that ultimately ends up
in a landfill.
Landau admits he has encoun
tered some resistance to the
amount of polystyrene used in his
restaurant, but he still believes it
is the most environmentally
sound choice for food packaging.
Landau said he would rather
use a material that can be recycled
at least once than a material that
goes immediately to a landfill af
ter just one use.
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