Washington lawmakers pass pollution bill, ban foam food packaging

Paula Davidson loves talking trash.

Davidson is the founder of Trash Talk Tacoma, a local organization that holds monthly trash pickups around Tacoma.

“No matter where you are in life, what do you have in common?” Davidson queried when asked why picking up trash is so appealing to her. “Trash.”

In what she calls a perfect blend of community-based effort with a common, relatable problem, Davidson loves picking up trash because she loves the environment. That’s why she knows all too well about one of Mother Nature’s most-common enemies: plastic foam.

“It’s everywhere. Everywhere!” she exclaimed. “It’s insidious in that way, where you go to the beach and it breaks down into almost microplastics. It gets so small, you can’t pick it up with a trash picker.”

“It has intense negative effects on the water that we all swim in and drink,” Mischa Jones said. Jones helped Davidson get Trash Talk Tacoma up and running. “It’d be nice to not pick up Styrofoam, if it were banned. Even when going to restaurants and I see (plastic foam containers), I’m like, ‘Man, I love their food but they got Styrofoam.’ That’s a no-no for me.”

The plastic foam stress that Jones and Davidson face is part of the reason why state Sen. Mona Das (D-Kent) sponsored Senate Bill 5022, after passing through both chambers of the state legislature, the bill is expected to be signed by Gov. Jay Inslee. It includes multiple parts, all based around efforts to decrease pollution and expand recycling:

• Sets a requirement for various plastics to be made of 50% post-consumer recycled materials by 2036. (beverage containers, trash bags, household cleaning containers, personal care product containers)
• Bans three types of plastic foam products: portable containers designed for cold storage (coolers), food service products (mostly used for takeout), and void-filling packaging products (packaging “peanuts”)
• Stops service workers from automatically providing plastic straws, utensils, condiment packages and cold-cup lids. These products could only be give by request or through a self-serve system.

“I believe, in my heart of hearts, that in 2021, if it is not recyclable, reusable or compostable, it should no longer be manufactured. Period,” Das said. “I don’t think that’s too much to ask. We have the technology. We know there’s compostable and recyclable materials out there.”

“We don’t want (companies) to stop creating these products. We just want (companies) to stop creating them out of toxic materials. That is not good for our health and our bodies as humans, or the planet,” she added.

Cox Media Group