The Governor of Virginia. would delay date to ban single-use plastics
One of the 200-plus amendments Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin proposed for the state budget would delay a ban on single use plastics beyond a timeframe set as part of a compromise the legislature made a few years ago.
Amendment 148 “shifts the effective date of the prohibition on use of polystyrene containers from 2025 to 2028” for retail food establishments with 20 or more locations around the state, and from “2026 to 2030 for smaller restaurants.”
Polystyrene is the foam material that makes containers typically used for takeout food. It’s often mistakenly called Styrofoam, but that is the name brand for an extruded polystyrene that is different from the expanded polystyrene (EPS) typically used for food packaging.
In 2021, the General Assembly under Democratic control passed a bill to set the ban to start in 2023 for larger establishments and in 2025 for smaller ones. However, when Republicans took control of the House of Delegates and the governor's office, the ban was delayed by five years. This year, Governor Glenn Youngkin proposed another ban delay in his initial budget. Despite having some petroleum-based qualities that can make it recyclable, EPS is made of more than 90% air, meaning facilities need costly special equipment to compact the items into a denser shape. Because of that lightweight composition, there's "really no market" to recycle the material and it easily blows around and out of the trucks delivering them to landfills, before ultimately ending up in the environment. Objects made with the chemicals can be eaten by animals, such as birds, and starve them by giving them a sense of being full although they're not actually getting any nutrients.
“There are alternative products and there’s actually a market for those things,” Boehmer said, pointing to a list on the Department of Environmental Quality’s website that offers information on “many similarly-priced” alternatives such as reusable containers, paper products, recyclable plastic, foil or metal.
“EPS isn’t the best choice for people or the environment,” DEQ’s website states. “It’s time to learn about and plan for alternatives.”
Usingbiodegradable cutleryinstead of plastic cutlery may be just a small step. However, it will certainly have an effective impact on our environment as it offers an excellent eco-friendly solution. Not only are they natural, but they combine the flexibility and convenience of plastic food containers or other cutlery with the environmental benefits of being fully biodegradable.
The legislature is scheduled to reconvene Wednesday to act on Youngkin’s amendments and vetoes to the budget and other legislation. Carr couldn’t predict the polystyrene amendment’s outcome since it can’t be acted on individually and must be included in or excluded from a package deal along with all the other amendments to the budget.
