Norwalk bans the use of Styrofoam products
NORWALK — Polystyrene, better known as Styrofoam, will be banned in Norwalk. The Common Council voted unanimously to ban the product, which scientists have said is harmful to the environment and human beings.
According to research from Saint Louis University on the “Real Cost of Styrofoam,” Styrofoam fills as much as 30 percent of total landfill volume across the country and about 20 percent of the litter that ends up in waterways.
The chemicals used to produce polystyrene, including benzene and styrene, have been identified as harmful to human health, according to the research, including higher risks of cancers and neurological effects.
“The purpose of this article is to preserve and protect the environment in the City of Norwalk by prohibiting the sale, provision or distribution of polystyrene products by food packagers and retail establishments,” the ordinance reads.
The ordinance bans all retail establishments from serving, selling, distributing or providing prepared food in polystyrene container, as well as banning those establishments from providing “loose fill packaging” made of polystyrene.
Food packagers will also be banned from packaging eggs, meat, bakery products or other food products in a polystyrene container. The exceptions to the ordinance will allow for food packaged outside of the city to come in polystyrene containers and raw meat or seafood products can also be packaged in polystyrene containers due to health concerns and risks. Polystyrene coolers and ice chests will also be exempt from the ban, as long as they are encased in another material.
Councilwoman Eloisa Melendez (District A, D), who chairs the Ordinance Committee that worked on the measure, pushed back on some criticism that the council is looking to “ban things.” “It seems like at least what we’re hearing, we’re just kind of in the mood of banning things,” she said. “We’re just trying to make Norwalk better.”
Resident Diane Lauricella said she’s been working with Council President Tom Livingston to research reusable trays and products to help the school district move away from the Styrofoam trays that are used.
“There are so many different alternatives to Styrofoam school trays,” she said. “As far as the reusables, that is the way to go now in our world.”
Lauricella also called on adding an educational component to the passage of the ordinance.
“We also accompany this with a rigorous creative public education,” she said. “I think the city when we pass ordinances, we should have an accompanying educational programs.”
Betty Ball, of Skip the Plastic Norwalk, said she was supportive of the styrofoam ban after seeing how much Styrofoam gets removed during cleanups. She recalled that during a cleanup at Oyster Shell Park, they found bits of Styrofoam mixed with the sand that prevented proper remediation.
The polystyrene ban will go into effect on April 22, 2020, the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. The ban is the latest environmental measure the city has taken, which has also included banning singleuse plastic bags. “With that let’s ban Styrofoam,” Melendez said before the vote.