Friday, March 15, 2013
Some members of the Somerville Board of Aldermen want to examine the economic impact of the proposed ban.
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, …
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Somerville aldermen grilled representatives from Dunkin' Donuts and the Dart Container Corporation at a hearing about a proposed ban on polystyrene takeout food containers.
Representatives from Dunkin' Donuts, the Dart Container Corporation and the Plastics Foodservice Packaging Group, among others, spoke out Wednesday night to opposed a proposed ban on polystyrene takeout food containers in Somerville. Meanwhile, several aldermen, residents, and representatives from groups such as Somerville Climate Action and 350 Massachusetts spoke in favor of the ban, while a few members of the local business community seemed skeptical about the proposal. At a public hearing before the Board of Aldermen's legislative matters committee, Dunkin' Donuts argued it's been "working hard" to find a replacement for polystyrene—commonly known as Styrofoam—cups, but hasn't found one yet, according to Christine Riley, director of …
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
A proposal to ban styrofoam takeout food containers will be discussed at the hearing.
Should Somerville ban styrofoam takeout food containers? That will be the topic of a public hearing held by the Somerville Board of Aldermen's Legislative Matters Committee on Feb. 27. The Board of Aldermen is considering a ban on styrofoam takeout containers after other communities, such as Brookline, have done so. If you want to attend the hearing, it's scheduled to take place at 6 p.m. at City Hall. Somerville to Consider Styrofoam Ban Should Somerville Ban Styrofoam?
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Friday, December 14, 2012
The city will draft an ordinance that would ban polystyrene containers for take-out food.
Brookline banned polystyrene food containers in November (polystyrene is commonly known by the brand name Styrofoam). Soon after Cambridge decided to consider a ban, and now Somerville is following suit. At a Somerville Board of Aldermen meeting held Thursday, the Board voted to have the city solicitor "draft an ordinance banning the use of polystyrene containers for take-out food service." Ward 7 Alderman Robert Trane, who proposed the measure, said polystyrene ends up in landfills and leaches "dangerous chemicals" into the environment. "Other cities and towns have already done it," Trane said about banning polystyrene. Somerville Patch asked readers in November if they would support a ban, and most people who responded indicated they …
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Brookline did it. Cambridge is thinking about it. Should Somerville join the trend?
Earlier this month Brookline, despite objections from Dunkin Donuts, voted to ban styrofoam food containers, including cups, from restaurants in town. A week later, city councilors in Cambridge voted to draft a municipal code that, if enacted, would do the same thing. This begs the question: Should Somerville follow suit? Would you support a styrofoam food-container ban in Somerville? Or do you think such a ban goes too far?
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 … more ›