BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Just days after Dunkin' announced plans to pull foam cups from stores, the state of Maine is also following suit with their own ban of the non-recyclable product by 2021.
Maine Governor Janet Mills signed the bill into law Tuesday, making Maine the first state in the country to issue such ban for drink and food containers.
Starting on January 1, 2021, the new law will prohibit businesses such restaurants, caterers, coffee shops, and grocers from selling or distributing disposable to-go food service containers made of polystyrene, commonly known as Styrofoam.
According to Mills, the material is considered a "significant contributor to environmental plastics pollution" because it breaks down into micro-plastics which can pollute oceans and eventually make way into the food supply.
"Polystyrene cannot be recycled like a lot of other products, so while that cup of coffee may be finished, the Styrofoam cup it was in is not,” Mills said. “In fact, it will be around for decades to come and eventually it will break down into particles, polluting our environment, hurting our wildlife, and even detrimentally impacting our economy.”
While Maine is the first state to ban styrofoam containers, cities across the country have enacted similar bans.
For instance Boston and New York City and states like Hawaii and California have banned plastic bags and some cities and counties across the country have banned straws.
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WBZ NewsRadio’s Chris Fama (@CFamaWBZ) reports.