Environment Colorado is knocking on doors statewide to take on the waste that’s killing our wildlife

Media Contacts
Garrett Garner-Wells

Environment Colorado

Denver, Colo. — Environment Colorado is deploying hundreds of door-knockers this summer across all seven congressional districts to help educate Coloradans about the plastic waste that is killing our wildlife.

“Nothing that we use for a couple of minutes should pollute our waterways for centuries,” said Garrett Garner-Wells, director of Environment Colorado. “As a headwater state, what we do impacts both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Colorado should take the lead in reducing plastic waste.”

Polystyrene — the stuff we call styrofoam — is one of the worst kinds of plastic waste, often used for cups and food containers. Coloradans throw away an estimated 1 million polystyrene cups every day. About a third of that plastic waste ends up in our rivers, lakes and oceans. Plastics don’t biodegrade, which means they remain intact or break down into smaller pieces. Plastic fragments have been found ingested by literally hundreds of species, including 86 percent of all sea turtle species and almost half of all seabird and marine mammal species.

Across the country, plastic foam bans have passed in more than 200 cities and other communities, from Portland, Oregon to Portland, Maine. Some companies are also leading the way. By the end of this year, McDonald’s will phase out foam cups and containers worldwide, in favor of 100 percent recycled materials.

Environment Colorado is advocating for a statewide ban on polystyrene containers from restaurants to help protect our waterways and our wildlife.