No Decision Yet on Proposed Somerville Styrofoam Ban
Some members of the Somerville Board of Aldermen want to examine the economic impact of the proposed ban.
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The Somerville Board of Aldermen is gathering more information before making a decision about a proposed ban on polystyrene takeout food containers, according to Ward 6 Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz.
Gewirtz, who chairs the Board's legislative matters committee, said some on the committee, which met Wednesday, had questions about the economic impact of the proposed ban on local businesses. She spoke Thursday night at the Board of Aldermen meeting.
Gewirtz felt switching from polystyrene cups to an alternative cup might not cost businesses a fortune. "Maybe it's a consumer cost of two extra cents per cup," she said.
The proposed ban would also affect the Somerville public school system, which uses about 885,000 polystyrene trays a year, according to Pat Durette from Somerville Public Schools, who spoke about the matter at the end of February.
Gewirtz said the committee is not inclined to separate the issue of polystyrene takeout containers from the polystyrene used in schools. "We're going to do something comprehensive," she said of the proposed ordinance.
The Legislative Matters Committee will likely continue the discussion on April 4, she said.
More
Dunkin' Donuts Opposes Proposed Somerville Styrofoam Ban
Public Hearing on Possible Styrofoam Ban on Feb. 27
AHM
6:13 am on Friday, March 15, 2013
Dumb, really dumb. Should be decided on a state level, not city politics. Regardles of if one is in favor of it or not.
John M
8:53 am on Friday, March 15, 2013
Do we really need local pols and govt to dictate how businesses and we receive our drinks and food? If the nanny itch really irritates these pols, why not just require businesses to make available alteratives to foam containers and hope and encourage the customer to make the better decision???
People do it every day at Demoulas with thier own sachells and backpacs, choosing what is "better"
John
AHM
1:11 pm on Friday, March 15, 2013
That would make too much sense and you will be taking away their job of thinking for us. Which obviously we can no longer do. I don't know how I got to be over 60 without their help.
SomGuy
10:58 am on Friday, March 15, 2013
Why don't we just ban litter bugs? Why ban a perfectly good product?
AHM
1:18 pm on Friday, March 15, 2013
Ditto. I could never figure out why someone can't simply out their trash where it belongs. My wife goes out each morning and picks up trash off the street and never fails to find some. Pure laziness is the only thing that comes to mind. I don't get it.
mary
2:53 pm on Friday, March 15, 2013
That "perfectly good product" takes hundreds of years to biodegrade. Exposure to polystyrene damages people's nervous and reproductive systems. When heated, polystyrene leaches harmful chemicals into food and drinks.
You may want to read up on the research before you endorse such a harmful product. Litter is one thing, but the environmental and health effects caused by styrofoam are pretty alarming.
http://www.earthresource.org/campaigns/capp/capp-styrofoam.html
Sean
12:54 pm on Friday, March 15, 2013
You can't control real crime and want to waste time,energy and money on this. Stop it Mayor this is Somerville.