I hoping that many reading this will join me in my quest to move local legislators to take meaningful steps to stem the never ending tidal wave of Styrofoam being foisted upon our community and environment.
Lightweight and brittle, Styrofoam scatters easily as litter, polluting waterways, oceans, and land, where it breaks down into persistent microplastics that enter the food chain. This is not new news. We have known for decades that animals ingest it, causing internal blockages, starvation, or chemical poisoning; it also contaminates marine life that we humans then consume.
Styrofoam is made of styrene and ethylbenzene which can leach into food and water, especially when heated, which is why food in Styrofoam containers – such as many restaurants use for packaging to-go orders and doggie bags – should never be placed into a microwave as doing so poses significant health risks and most scientists believe the byproduct of heating it is carcinogenic.
Manufacturing Styrofoam involves extracting fossil fuels and creates toxic waste, impacting climate as well as producing additional negative impacts on our ecosystems. But perhaps most important of all is that there is no cost-effective way to recycle this nasty substance so almost all of it inevitably ends up in our landfills, where besides being mistaken as food by birds, it takes an astonishing 500 + years to decompose because it’s non-biodegradable, breaking down into those tiny, persistent microplastics rather than truly disappearing. While sunlight may, within decades, help it crumble into fragments faster it never fully biodegrades in landfills or oceans, posing long-term pollution problems which are quantifiable as well as those we likely have not yet even imagined.
I short, Styrofoam is a truly awful and terribly harmful substance that relentlessly endangers our personal health and well-being as well as that of our planet in general – and yet despite all the indisputable science which proves how dangerous Styrofoam is, our nations industries just keep on manufacturing this life-threatening substance and it continues to permeate all aspects of our everyday life.
But it does not have to be this way!
Yes, you and I can make some individual choices to avoid adding to this ever-increasing problem but as the creatures of convenience that we are, we as a society will often take what we are given as the stuff is shoved upon us at every turn.
Since it’s become painfully obvious that despite all the warnings and alarms which have arisen from credible scientific research which one might think would cause manufacturers to stop making single-use Styrofoam items that is not happening, or its happening at a snail’s pace. Likewise, so many restaurants; chains, franchises, and mom & pops alike, continue to use it in their daily operations.
Several years ago wrote to the owner/CEO of Chick-fil-A thinking that since the fast food behemoth was so closely aligned with Christianity and since those at the top of the organization routinely referenced the Bible as their reasoning for taking their infamous anti-gay stances, that I would reference the Bible in an attempt to get them to stop and reconsider their obscene use of Styrofoam which they not only use for dispensing coffee, but also all soft drinks, certain sandwiches, and desserts as well.
In my letter to Chick-fil-A I referenced Genesis 2:15 which states, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it” suggesting that in this verse God is requiring man to have good stewardship over that which God had created, that being our planet. I made some other Biblical references I had researched at the time but which, being an atheist, escape me at this moment, but the long and short of it is I made every attempt to appeal to the Christian sensibilities of the CEO suggesting he was called upon by God to take care of our planet while pointing out the decade’s worth of pollutants his company was responsible for dumping upon and in said earth. I pleaded with the recipient of my appeal to consider ceasing the use of Styrofoam at its more than three thousand restaurants.
I never received a reply to my letter.
Styrofoam cups and containers are cheaper to produce and to purchase than are their wax-coated cardboard recyclable counterparts so I doubt we can count of corporate America to reverse their practices of their own accord.
A standard paper coffee cup takes around 20 years to decompose in a landfill as opposed to the 500 years it takes the Styrofoam cup to do the same, while during the process the paper cup does not leach lethal chemicals into our earth, water, and food chain, and likely do not result in the killing of wildlife along the way.
Since Congress has never taken any action whatsoever to regulate its manufacture it seems to me that it must fall to state governments or local municipalities to outright ban single-use Styrofoam products.
Thus far only 12 US States (almost all them considered blue; no surprise there) have implemented bans or restrictions on Styrofoam for food service and packaging, targeting takeout containers, cups, and packing peanuts. It should come as no surprise that Florida is not among them.
But as with almost anything that needs changing in our country that change likely needs to begin at the local level. As such I am asking you to join me in contacting your city and/or County Councilpersons, Chairpersons, and Mayors asking them to enact legislation which would preclude single-use Styrofoam products within the food service industry – for a start.
You might think that wouldn’t be enough to make a difference but with an estimated 8,000 restaurants in Orange County alone, I think it could and would make a big difference, and whether big or slight, it would certainly be a step in the right direction. So, write to your local representatives and ask them to get on board with this initiative. More importantly, if you dine at establishments that use Styrofoam cups and containers, then by all means voice your opposition to that usage and let the management know you intend to stop patronizing their establishment if they don’t switch to products that are recyclable and don’t endanger our collective health.
During this strange and horrible time in our national politics when so many of us feel so incapable of doing anything to affect change – other than voting in the midterms – I have decided I will work for change in my own backyard, and I entreat you to do the same. I honestly feel it will be good for our souls, our animal friends, our community, and our personal mental wellbeing to at least be trying.
So make a call or write an email! Do a little something to challenge the status quo. You’ll feel better. I promise.
Michael Wanzie is an Orlando-based playwright, actor and ordained minister. He is most recognized for his direction of productions in the Central Florida area.
