City Council bill would ban foam food containers

Honolulu eateries would be banned from using foam takeout containers under a bill introduced at the City Council Wednesday that would require them to use only compostable material.

Current law allows restaurants and other food vendors to use foam, or polystyrene, containers so long as they do not contain chlorofluorocarbons.

Bill 40, introduced by Council members Stanley Chang and Ann Kobayashi, would require plates, cups, bowls, trays and containers that are either hinged or lidded, to be compostable.

“It’s time to go one step further in protecting our land,” Chang said in a news release.

“Polystyrene foam containers are still made with the carcinogen styrene and do not break down safely, leaving our beaches and land scattered with toxic foam bits and endangering species that try to consume the foam.”

The measure comes as the Council is considering another bill that would include compostable bags in a plastic bag ban scheduled to begin July 1, 2015.

——

Full text of Bill 40: http://bit.ly/1gBQ62Z