If we’ve known for decades that styrofoam is bad, why do we continue to use it? Why haven’t governments created any sort of legislation or regulations that prohibit the manufacturing and use of styrofoam?

Question

I work in retail and I see tons and tons of styrofoam in packaging every damn day. I’ve heard it can be recycled, but it’s depressing to just see it go down the trash chute.

In: 2

Answer 1

If it’s going down the trash chute, that means it’s going into a landfill or incinerator, at which point it doesn’t really cause any environmental impact (landfills are separated from the environment and incinerators have scrubbers)

The main issue with plastic is when people litter it, but styrofoam is rarely used for single use carryout foods which is where most litter comes from. And without highly visible (and news-worthy) litter, there’s not much push to change things.