Alaska House advances bill restricting polystyrene containers from restaurants
- Alaska Beacon
- 10 hours ago
- 3 min read
By Haley Lehman
Alaska Beacon
The Alaska House of Representatives passed a bill Wednesday banning restaurants from providing food in polystyrene foam containers.
Representative Andy Josephson, D-Anchorage, introduced the bill to address what he called an “alarming problem” of plastic pollution.
Josephson cited a statistic from the Ocean Conservancy, an environmental advocacy nonprofit, that found polystyrene foam is found in 22% of food takeout containers in the U.S.
Polystyrene foam is a non-biodegradable plastic that is used to make insulated and disposable plates, cups and takeout containers. It contains chemicals that can be harmful when heated and contributes to environmental pollution. Styrofoam is a form of expanded polystyrene foam.
The Ocean Conservancy estimates that Americans use 5.6 billion pieces of plastic foam annually.
“There’s enough foam produced every year to fill the Dallas Cowboys stadium five times. That’s what’s at issue here,” Josephson said.
If the bill makes it into law, Alaska will become the thirteenth state to ban polystyrene containers. The Alaska municipalities of Bethel, Cordova and Seward enacted bans on polystyrene food containers.
The proposed restrictions would not apply to food prepared outside of Alaska or to areas affected by a disaster emergency. Restaurants would be able to apply to the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation for exemptions.
The bill would prohibit the state from using or purchasing polystyrene foam disposable food service ware and instructs the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation to recommend that restaurants reuse food service ware instead of using disposable containers.
Green Alaska Solutions LLC, Alaska Community Action on Toxics and Oceana, an advocacy organization focused on ocean conservation, supported the bill.
Opponents of the bill included the Foodservice Packaging Institute, the Alaska Chamber, the Plastics Industry Association and the Alaska Cabaret, Hotel, Restaurant, and Retailers Association, or CHARR.
Kati Capozzi, president and CEO of the Alaska Chamber, wrote that the bill would impose financial burdens on Alaska’s businesses and Sarah Oates Harlow, president and CEO of Alaska CHARR, said that the bill would decrease restaurant profit margins, with both expressing concerns that the bill would negatively impact small businesses.
“By requiring restaurants to use more expensive alternatives that may not perform as well — especially for hot or cold foods — this bill threatens to increase operating costs for businesses already struggling with narrow margins. The unintended consequence could be higher costs for consumers and additional strain on small businesses,” Capozzi stated in a letter to legislators.
The bill passed with 25 yes votes and 15 no votes in the House of Representatives.
Rep. Dan Saddler, R-Eagle River, said that he opposed the bill vehemently.
“This is using the power of government to force people to do things that the government believes are best for you…the government seldom knows best on these kinds of things.”
Rep. Sara Hannan, D-Juneau, supported the bill and spoke to its environmental impact.
“It (polystyrene foam) never goes away. It just breaks down into smaller and smaller and smaller particles and finds its way into our diverse ecosystem, primarily waterways.”
She also said that legislators should not only consider the cost of alternative disposable food service ware, but the cost of landfills and Alaskans’ health.
Rep. Ashley Carrick, D-Fairbanks, voted in support of the bill and compared the ban to seat belt laws and the establishment of smoke free workplaces. She told legislators that the long term benefits to public health and the environment outweigh the short term costs.
Lawmakers’ efforts to expand the bill failed in a lengthy amendment process. There were attempts to ban paper straws, to ban polystyrene packaged outside the state, to allow municipalities to allow restaurants to provide prepared food in polystyrene foam disposable food service ware, and to create a telephone line to report violations.
• Haley Lehman graduated from James Madison University and reported for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Alaska Beacon is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
