WASHINGTON — Some people use them every day, but starting Jan. 1, disposable foam coffee cups and food containers will be banned in two large parts of our area.
D.C. and Montgomery County, in Maryland, will require businesses that serve food to stop using containers made of expanded polystyrene, often called Styrofoam.
“It’s a trash that doesn’t decompose, and then just becomes part of our landscape,” says Tommy Wells, director of D.C.’s Department of Energy and Environment.
“Often, because it’s so light, it gets blown out of trash cans or it ends up on the ground and it finds its way into the Anacostia River.”
The foam packaging will be replaced with biodegradable or recyclable paper and plastic packaging.
There are some exceptions to the bans that start Friday. For instance, raw meat or seafood will still be able to be sold in foam packaging.
And Montgomery County’s new law includes something the District’s doesn’t have: A ban on the sale of foam packing peanuts within its borders.
The City of Takoma Park already has a foam food packaging ban in place that took effect in July. Another ban in Prince George’s County kicks in next July.
Wells says the ban is a way to continue to clean up the District.
“There’s a real sense of pride that this really can be and should be the most beautiful city in the world.”
