Action Alert: Support HB 25 to Restrict Restaurant Use of Polystyrene

House Bill 25 – Restrict Restaurant Use of Polystyrene

HB 25 would prevent restaurants from using disposable polystyrene foam in food service ware, encouraging the adoption of biodegradable or compostable alternatives.

Polystyrene foam (also called “styrofoam”) contains the chemical styrene, which has been linked to health harms including certain cancers, such as leukemia and lymphoma. When used to hold hot or warm foods, styrene leaches into the food and can then be ingested. The manufacturing of styrene also presents a threat to workers’ health.

Styrofoam is also harmful as an environmental pollutant. Polystyrene does not naturally break down over time and only fragments into smaller particles referred to as microplastics. It is lightweight which makes it susceptible to enter into our oceans and other waterways where it can be ingested by fish, seabirds, and marine mammals.

Polystyrene is not recyclable, meaning the vast majority ends up in landfills and persists in the environment for hundreds of years. It makes up a large percentage of waste mass in landfills, approximately 25-30%.

Thank you to Representative Andy Josephson for sponsoring this bill!

How to support HB 25

1. Sign the petition: Ban Styrofoam in Alaskan restaurants
2. Call in during public testimony on March 10 at 3:15 pm. See our talking points below for ideas.
3. Email [email protected] in support of the bill. See our talking points below for ideas.

Health concerns

• Polystyrene foam contains styrene, a chemical linked to health harms including cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma
• When exposed to hot or warm foods and beverages, styrene leaches into the food/beverage and can then be ingested
• Workers in polystyrene manufacturing are exposed to toxic chemicals that can cause long-term health harms

Environmental pollution

• Polystyrene does not biodegrade—it breaks into microplastics that remain in the environment for hundreds of years
• Polystyrene is not recyclable and makes up 25-30% of landfill waste by volume
• Due to its lightweight nature, polystyrene easily blows into waterways to pollute oceans, rivers, and land
• Marine mammals, fish, and seabirds ingest polystyrene

Polystyrene alternatives

• There are readily available biodegradable or compostable alternatives to polystyrene, and many restaurants and businesses have already made the switch
• Compostable food containers are safer for human health and the environment while supporting a circular economy
• HB 25 would encourage sustainable business practices and reduce Alaska’s plastic waste problem