Plastic Foam Makers Seek to Avert Ban
Representatives from plastic foam manufacturers have urged Duarte officials to consider recycling rather than banning cellular polystyrene.
City council members have been considering banning the use of plastic foam containers and other products in restaurants because it is not biodegradable and poses a litter problem. Some cellular polystyrene is made with chemicals that damage the protective ozone layer of the atmosphere, contributing to the so-called “greenhouse effect.”
John Marshall, a product manager of Dow Chemical Co., told city officials during a three-hour hearing that manufacturers are moving away from making products made with ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs. By the end of the year all foam food packaging, including egg cartons and meat trays, should be free of CFCs, he said.
Stanley John, president of Rastra Building Systems Inc. in Riverside, described a recycling plant he plans to open in July that would process 6,000 cubic feet of plastic foam daily.
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