Banned in Brookline: Polystyrene Food and Beverage Containers
Brookline’s Special Town Meeting voted to ban the use of polystyrene food and beverage containers on Tuesday night.
The use of Polystyrene, more commonly known as Styrofoam, will be prohibited for take-out or to go in Brookline. Town meeting member Nancy Heller proposed the article due to the health risks. “Styrene (the chemical found in and released from polystyrene) is noxious to make, does not biodegrade and are on the (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) list of reasonably anticipated carcinogens,” Heller said. The issue with styrene is that it may leach into food and beverages as well as on going environmental concerns. “Styrene is incinerated at landfills or turned into pellets to make new polystyrene,” Heller said. “The environmental effects are reason enough to ban the stuff. The article passed with 169-to-27. Christine Riley director …
