The Palisadian-Post has partnered with locally founded environmental organization Resilient Palisades to deliver a “green tip” to our readers in each newspaper. This edition’s tip was written by Lisa Kaas Boyle, Esq., a member of the Resilient Palisades Zero Waste Team.
Most of us order food delivered to our homes, eat at restaurants that serve in single-use materials and take-home leftovers in single-use packaging.
Polystyrene, often referred to by the DuPont trade name Styrofoam, is a chemical that can be solid or foamed. You are probably familiar with polystyrene foam cups for coffee and soup containers, but plastic cutlery is also polystyrene.
Did you know that this material is a neurotoxin that can cause disease? For example, a study reported in Parkinson’s Foundation’s Science News on January 19 has linked polystyrene to Parkinson’s disease.
“According to past research, it is common for blood samples to contain polystyrene nanoparticles, which come from pieces of foam packing materials, cups and cutlery,” the report read, but now we know traces of polystyrene can be found in human brain tissues and this may be causing disease, including Parkinson’s.
“Parkinson’s disease is diagnosed when a protein, called alpha-synuclein, begins to clump in vulnerable neurons in the brain,” the report continued. “The clumping ultimately affects dopamine, the neurotransmitter that gets progressively lost in PD, leading to early signs of the disease. This new study shows that polystyrene nanoparticles can interact with alpha-synuclein and promote its clumping in test tubes, in brain cells grown in a petri dish and in mice.”
Polystyrene bans exist in many places around the world and in several U.S. jurisdictions. In California the legislature passed SB 54, the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act, in June 2022.
The law sets forth Extended Producer Responsibility requirements for plastic, including a requirement that polystyrene be banned if recycling rates do not reach 25% by 2025. Recycling rates averaged 6% at passage, leading some to call the law a “de facto ban,” anticipating an inability to comply within three years.
But to protect yourself today, refuse to use polystyrene. Do not accept to-go plastic cutlery or Styrofoam packaging. CA Assembly Bill No. 619 permits diners to bring their own clean dining ware for in-store use, refill and to go.
It’s best to use glass or stainless steel, as these materials do not contaminate food.
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