On Tuesday, The Board of Supervisors in San Francisco voted to ban the commonly used polystyrene foam products. This ban concerns polystyrene to-go food containers, food packaging, coffee cups and others. The restriction will take effect on January 1, 2017. Only for fish and meat trays, it will be delayed to July 1, 2017. 

The defenders of the ban state that foam products which are not biodegradable have a strong negative impact on the environment. They often pollute waterways and could be harmful for the animals. The decision of the Board can be pointed as an example of the San Francisco’s leadership on environmental protection. Maybe this will become the beginning of a massive polystyrene ban across the USA.

Polystyrene is often also called “styrofoam”. However, the ban will not affect the trademarked Styrofoam products. They are commonly used for insulation and as construction materials. ‘Styrofoam’ is simply a trademarked brand name which only refers to the polystyrene foam products which are being used for thermal insulation. These are not the polystyrene products which people use on a daily basis and which will soon be banned.

Polystyrene is a petroleum-based and commonly used plastic foam. The San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors’ decision is by now the most extensive ban on polystyrene products in USA. This is an important step of the San Francisco's goal to become a completely waste-free city by 2020.

This is actually a logical step made by the Board. At first, in 2007, San Francisco banned polystyrene take-away containers. The reasons for this decision were environmental concerns. The plastic foam is one of the most widely used packing products. Each year, about 25 billion polystyrene cups are thrown out in USA and cause serious environmental problems.

Polystyrene is a relatively soft material. However, it takes it so much time to break down in landfill. There is another major problem - this material can possibly have negative impact on human health. The reason is that it contains some hormone-disrupting chemicals.

86 percent of the disposable products is not recycled. When polystyrene goes to ocean waters, it breaks down too quickly. Then, it turns into microplastic which gets distributed by water. There, it could be ingested by marine organisms, and intoxicate them.

After the first step of San Francisco to banning polystyrene in 2007, more than others 100 cities also banned polystyrene takeaway containers. But this new polystyrene-banning step is by far the hardest legislation in USA.
As expected, not everyone considers that this is a reasonable decision. The American Chemistry Council made and official statement that that polystyrene is friendlier to environment in comparison with some biodegradable alternatives. The reason is that its light weight produces fewer carbon emissions while it is being transported.

Still, the ban seems quite logical since polystyrene is definitely a prevalent and long-lasting artificial material. Keeping a major city such as San Francisco clear from it is really an important step. Hopefully, other big cities in USA and around the world will do the same.