Van Hollen, Doggett Renew Effort to Curb Foam Container Pollution to Protect Our Environment, Public Health

Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) reintroduced the Farewell to Foam Act, bicameral legislation to phase out single-use plastic foam food service products, “loose fill” such as packing peanuts, and non-medical disposable coolers – materials known to cause harmful health effects and pollute waterways. This bill prohibits the sale and distribution of these items beginning January 2028 while aiming to support the transition to alternatives. Additional Senate cosponsors of this legislation are Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Angus King (I-Maine), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

“Plastic foam materials from food containers to packing peanuts are usually used once and thrown away, but that’s just the beginning of their journey – too often these toxic materials end up choking our waterways, contaminating our food supply, and building up in our bodies. Phasing out foam and encouraging the use of smarter packaging will help protect the health of our communities and our environment as well as the economic wellbeing of all those whose livelihoods depend on our waterways,” said Senator Van Hollen.

“Plastic foam is a permanent polluter,” said Rep. Doggett. “As trash clutters our waterways, roadsides, and greenspaces, foam doesn’t fully disintegrate. Instead, it ever so slowly degrades into microplastics that pollute our bodies and our planet. This legislation, informed by successful state and local plastic foam bans, seeks a cleaner, more sustainable future for our entire country by saying farewell to foam.”

Expanded polystyrene (EPS), known more commonly as plastic foam, is one of the most harmful forms of single-use plastic. These materials, which also often contain other toxic additives such as flame retardants and colorants, are known to have negative impacts on human health, with links to central nervous system damage and increased risk of cancer. Additionally, they are difficult to recycle and prone to break up into tiny pieces – or microplastics – and often wash away into the environment, especially waterways. It is estimated that Americans use at least 5.6 billion pieces of plastic foam products each year.

In 2019, Maryland became the first state in the U.S. to pass a law ending the use of plastic foam food service products. A study on the impact of the Maryland law found a 65 percent decrease in plastic foam foodware pollution on beaches and waterways in the state from 2020 to 2022. Since then, ten additional states, the District of Columbia, America Samoa, and many municipalities have passed similar measures.

The Farewell to Foam Act aims to build on this progress and reduce plastic foam pollution nationwide by requiring food service providers, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers to transition their stock of EPS products such as foodware, coolers, and loose packing fill to alternative materials by January 1, 2028.

The bill also authorizes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to impose escalating penalties on establishments that violate the EPS prohibition during one calendar year. Upon initial violation, EPA shall provide a written warning, then a impose a fine of $250 for the second violation, $500 for the third violation, and $1,000 for the fourth and subsequent violations. Service providers and retailers with annual revenue less than $1,000,000 and manufacturers and distributors with annual revenue less than $5,000,000 will not be penalized more than once during any seven-day period. The legislation provides exemptions for EPS material used for medical purposes.  

Bill text is available here.

This legislation has been endorsed by Ocean Conservancy, Oceana, 350Brooklyn, 5 Gyres Institute, A Sustainable Village, Air Alliance Houston, Alaska Community Action on Toxics, Albany Presbytery Peacemaking Task Force, Alliance for a Living Ocean, Alliance for Mission Based Recycling, Alliance for the Great Lakes, Bainbridge Beach Naturalists, Bainbridge Island Zero Waste, Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community (BCMAC), Bend the Curve, Between the Waters, Beyond Plastics, Beyond Plastics Sullivan County (NY), Black Hill Audubon Society, Blue Water Baltimore, Breathe Free Detroit, BYO - US Reduces, Cape Fear River Watch, Center for Biological Diversity, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Clean Air Coalition of Greater Ravena-Coeymans, Clean Fairfax, Clean Miami Beach, Climate Crisis Working Group (IMV), Climate Psychiatry Alliance, Columbia County Reduces Waste--Bring Your Own (CCRW--BYO), Common Ground Compost LLC, Connecticut River Conservancy, CupZero Inc, Damascus Citizens For Sustainability, Debris Free Oceans, Defend Our Health, Don't Trash the Catskills, EARTHDAY.ORG, Earthworks, Eastside Audubon, EcoAction Arlington, Environment America, Environment Maryland, Environment Texas, Eureka Recycling, Fenceline Watch, Food & Water Watch, Fountain Creek Watershed District, French Broad Riverkeeper, FreshWater Accountability Project, Friends of Dyke Marsh, Friends of the Chicago River, Grand Strand Reduces, Grassroots Environmental Education, Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility, Green Table Farms, GreenLatinos, Greenpeace USA, Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake, Jenkinson's Aquarium, Just Zero, Keep Nassau Beautiful, Keep Oahu Beautiful, Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful, Kent Island Beach Cleanups-KIBCU, Little Falls Watershed Alliance, Love the Sea, Maryland Ornithological Society, Maryland PIRG, Micah Six Eight Mission, Milwaukee Riverkeeper, Moms Clean Air Force, MountainTrue, Nassau Hiking & Outdoor Club, National Aquarium, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Nature Forward, Neighbors of the Northwest Branch, North American Climate Conservation and Environment (NACCE), NY4Whales, Omaha Reduces, Operation SPLASH, Orca Network, P-SNAP (Physician and Scientist Network Addressing Plastics and Health), Pacific Environment, Partners for Clean Streams Inc., People for a Healthy Environment, Physicians for Social Responsibility Pennsylvania, Plaine Products, Plastic Free Future, Plastic Ocean Project Inc., Plastic Pollution Coalition, Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, Riverkeeper, Rock Creek Conservancy, Rozalia Project, Rutherford Outdoor Coalition, Safe Skies Maryland, Save The Bay, Save The River® Upper St. Lawrence Riverkeeper®, Save the Sound, Seattle Aquarium, Sierra Club, Society of Conservation Biology North America, Society of Native Nations, Spokane Audubon Society, Surfrider Foundation, Sustainable Bainbridge, Sustainable Hudson Valley, Tampa Bay Watch Inc., The Eco-Institute, The Last Plastic Straw, Trash Free Maryland, Tropical Audubon Society, Troy Zero Waste, Tybee Clean Beach Volunteers, U.S. PIRG, Upstream, Vernal Pool Partners, VolunteerCleanup.org, Water Keeper Alliance, Waterkeepers Chesapeake, WESPAC Foundation Inc., Westhampton Garden Club, World Wildlife Fund, Zero Waste Capital District (NY), Zero Waste Ithaca, Zero Waste Washington.

“Plastic foam has a devastating impact on our ocean: plastic foam foodware items are among the most common single-use plastics found on beaches and waterways, where they easily break down into tiny pieces and can be ingested by marine life,” said Dr. Anja Brandon, Ocean Conservancy’s Director of Plastics Policy. “In recent years, we’ve seen a wave of state and local municipalities take action and phase out plastic foam foodware, but piecemeal efforts are not enough to address the flood of single-use plastics polluting our environment. Enough is enough, and we’re thrilled to see Congress say farewell to foam.”

“Plastic foam isn’t just polluting our beaches – it’s making its way into marine wildlife like sea turtles and even our own bodies,” said Christy Leavitt, Oceana’s U.S. Plastics Campaign Director. “This problematic plastic harms public health during its production and use while fueling the climate crisis and polluting the air and waterways. Nearly 8 in 10 U.S. voters support national policies that reduce single-use plastic foam. Oceana applauds Senator Van Hollen and Representative Doggett for leading the way to phase out single-use plastic foam, an unnecessary, virtually unrecyclable product that hurts our oceans and health. Now it is time for Congress to wave Farewell to Foam across the country.”  

“Polystyrene foam is a pernicious plastic product that harms the environment and public health from its manufacture, use and disposal,” said Kate Donovan, Senior Attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). “Ending the unnecessary use of this toxic material is a critical step toward addressing the plastic crisis that threatens the health of people and the planet.”

"Plastic pollution is all around us and plastic foam is one of the most polluting materials – it is not recyclable and it easily breaks apart, leaking into nature and polluting environments across America,” said Alejandro?Pérez, Senior Vice President, Policy and Government Affairs at the World Wildlife Fund. “The Farewell to Foam Act, introduced by Senator Chris Van Hollen and Representative Lloyd Doggett, would phase out plastic foam over time, specifically focusing on food service ware, packaging fill, and single-use coolers. WWF supports this legislation as another important step forward in addressing plastic pollution."

"All plastics break up into microplastics, but none quite as visibly as expanded polystyrene. Break a piece of styrofoam, and it will crumble into tiny particles that are impossible to clean up,” said Paulita Bennet-Martin, Senior Strategist of Policy Initiatives at The 5 Gyres Institute. “We don't need to add to the widespread microplastic pollution that is already threatening human health. Instead, we need to remove toxic materials, like expanded polystyrene, and usher in better alternatives for people and the planet. That's why 5 Gyres applauds Senator Van Hollen and Representative Doggett for their leadership on this important legislation."

“Phasing out and banning the production of the worst single-use plastic,  polystyrene foam, is the only path to protecting the communities and wildlife that depend on the Great Lakes,” said Don Jodrey, Director of Federal Relations at the Alliance for the Great Lakes. “We fully support the Farewell to Foam Act as an important step in preventing the scourge of plastic pollution at its source.”

“The most effective way to address ocean plastic pollution is to reduce plastics at the source,” said Nora Nickum, VP of Conservation Programs and Partnerships at the Seattle Aquarium. “Numerous states like Washington have already shown that expanded polystyrene foam products can be phased out. The Seattle Aquarium thanks Sen. Van Hollen and Rep. Doggett for leading the effort to say Farewell to Foam across the country.”

"Plastic pollution infiltrates the planet through toxic chemical dumping in fenceline communities, dangerous shipments traveling across the country, harmful exposure to consumers, and through litter on land and in waterways,” said Maya Rommwatt, Director of Campaigns and Programs at Defend Our Health. "This bill aims to reduce the prevalence of one of the most hazardous plastics available. It will help safeguard the health of consumers and communities nationwide."

"Texas has the trashiest beaches in America and polystyrene cups and takeout containers are a major source of the pollution. It's an eyesore, but it also threatens wildlife and our health. Nothing we use for just a few minutes should pollute our environment for centuries,” said Luke Metzger, Executive Director at Environment Texas. “We applaud Congressman Doggett for his leadership in fighting plastic pollution. Austin has adopted a goal to reduce the amount of trash sent to landfills by 90% by the year of 2040, but we can't do it alone. We need federal action to phase out wasteful foam products. Don't mess with Texas!"

"Polystyrene, a.k.a. Styrofoam, is toxic, unnecessary, and almost all of it will never get recycled,” said Kirstie Pecci, Executive Director at Just Zero. “Banning foam products is an easy way to prevent litter, protect our health, and encourage consumers and businesses to move to greener foodware, packaging, and coolers"

“It is not revolutionary to ban a known toxic material, it is in fact an necessary evolutionary act to do so. It’s time to wave farewell to toxic polystyrene foam and embrace non-toxic safe regenerative and reusable materials,” said Julia Cohen, MPH, Co-Founder and Managing Director at the Plastic Pollution Coalition (PPC). “Plastic Pollution Coalition fully supports passage of this important long overdue bill to ban polystyrene foam.”

"The Surfrider Foundation is excited to see this bill introduced as our grassroots network has been addressing expanded polystyrene litter for decades through our beach cleanups, Ocean Friendly Restaurants, and advocacy work,” said Miho Ligare, Senior Plastic Pollution Initiative Manager at The Surfrider Foundation. “Expanded polystyrene foam products, including foodware, easily break into small pieces that litter the beach, poison marine species when ingested, and release toxic chemicals into your hot takeout food."