In an effort to form an opinion on the issue of Styrofoam take-out food containers, I realized right away that there are no easy solutions to what is clearly a problem. Styrofoam containers are a pollutant that at best ends up in the trash and at worst ends up in our waters.
There is a proposal on the table to ban such containers in Culver City, which on the surface seems to be a good idea. However, the unintended consequences of such a ban might lead to the use of more dangerous pollutants, more expensive alternatives or more environmentally damaging effects. Such a ban would also single out only one offensive product among many. A cardboard-type container, for example, with its reliance on wood products, is far from a panacea. Neither is a multiple-use plastic a simple remedy – even if consumers carried their plastic containers with them in the ubiquitous manner of cloth shopping bags, the very fact that plastic is itself an unsustainable substance creates a number of objections.
The simplest of solutions would be to reduce the amount of food transporting that we do as consumers. This is not necessarily a reasonable action to take, however. Take-out food is a convenience that keeps restaurants from becoming overly crowded, provides additional revenues and allows patrons to enjoy meals at a location of their choosing, among other benefits.
One fix that comes to mind would involve the use of recyclable or biodegradable domestic products that do not require the use of excessive amounts of energy nor rely on fossil fuels. As green alternatives supplant current goods, manufacturers will eventually begin to design more earth-friendly products – whether incentivized to do so or out of necessity. The raw materials in use today – rubber, copper and petroleum, to name a few – represent, in large part, the residue of imperial conquests in the name of powerful interests that have prevented innovation by exerting substantial influence to ensure the public’s continued reliance on their ill-gotten resources.
But perhaps I’m biting off more than I can chew here. I suppose I can always take home the rest in a doggie bag – preferably one not made of Styrofoam, thanks.
