FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Wednesday, May 17, 2023
Contact: Hannah Lee Flath, hannahlee.flath@sierraclub.org, 860-634-0225
Sierra Club Illinois Statement on Passage of Polystyrene Foam Ban in the Illinois State House
SPRINGFIELD, IL -- Today, the Illinois State House passed the Polystyrene Foam Ban (SB58), which bans the use of toxic polystyrene foam at state agencies and universities. Single-use plastic items like plastic foam cups and containers make up nearly half of our plastic use and clog our landfills, litter our streets, and pollute our parks. The Polystyrene Foam Ban now heads to the Senate for a vote.
In response, Sierra Club Illinois Director Jack Darin released the following statement:
“Plastic waste litters our communities, our ecosystems, and now also shows up in our drinking water and our bodies. State government should set an example by reducing and ultimately eliminating plastic foam waste in our state, and today the State House took an important step toward that goal. We applaud the leadership of State Representative Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz and State Senator Laura Fine on this legislation. We urge the Illinois Senate to send this bill to Governor JB Pritzker this week and bring us one step closer to an Illinois free of plastic pollution.”