Legislation advances to phase out plastic foam food ware in Illinois

Legislation to phase out the use of single-use plastic polystyrene foam food ware starting in 2024 passed out of the House Energy and Environment Committee Tuesday afternoon on an 18-8 vote.

The EPA estimates that Americans throw away almost 70 million plastic foam cups every day. Twenty-two million pounds of plastic enter the Great Lakes each year and just over half of that ends up in Lake Michigan alone. Already, eight states and roughly 200 cities and municipalities have enacted bans on polystyrene foam containers.

The legislation is a priority for the Coalition for Plastic Reduction, a coalition of more than 35 organizations across Illinois including Environment Illinois which held a lobby day in support of this legislation on February 22nd.