March 6th, 2025 by WCBC Radio

U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) reintroduced the Farewell to Foam Act, bicameral legislation to phase out single-use plastic foam food service products, “loose fill” such as packing peanuts, and non-medical disposable coolers – materials known to cause harmful health effects and pollute waterways. This bill prohibits the sale and distribution of these items beginning January 2028 while aiming to support the transition to alternatives. Additional Senate cosponsors of this legislation are Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Angus King (I-Maine), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

“Plastic foam materials from food containers to packing peanuts are usually used once and thrown away, but that’s just the beginning of their journey – too often these toxic materials end up choking our waterways, contaminating our food supply, and building up in our bodies. Phasing out foam and encouraging the use of smarter packaging will help protect the health of our communities and our environment as well as the economic wellbeing of all those whose livelihoods depend on our waterways,” said Senator Van Hollen.

“Plastic foam is a permanent polluter,” said Rep. Doggett. “As trash clutters our waterways, roadsides, and greenspaces, foam doesn’t fully disintegrate. Instead, it ever so slowly degrades into microplastics that pollute our bodies and our planet. This legislation, informed by successful state and local plastic foam bans, seeks a cleaner, more sustainable future for our entire country by saying farewell to foam.”

Expanded polystyrene (EPS), known more commonly as plastic foam, is one of the most harmful forms of single-use plastic. These materials, which also often contain other toxic additives such as flame retardants and colorants, are known to have negative impacts on human health, with links to central nervous system damage and increased risk of cancer. Additionally, they are difficult to recycle and prone to break up into tiny pieces – or microplastics – and often wash away into the environment, especially waterways. It is estimated that Americans use at least 5.6 billion pieces of plastic foam products each year.

In 2019, Maryland became the first state in the U.S. to pass a law ending the use of plastic foam food service products.