City Council Public Hearing
for Seattle's Proposed
Styrofoam Ban and Green Fee

Tuesday, July 8th

Sign up for public comments at 6:30pm, meeting starts at 7pm.

Seattle mayor Greg Nickels and City Council President Richard Conlin recently proposed a ban on polystyrene food containers and a 'green fee'  that will require groceries and pharmacies to charge 20 cents for each disposable paper or plastic bag they hand out. Check out more information on our bag addiction from our friends at Bring Your Own Bag.

This green fee would be the first of its kind in the country. Exciting times, eh? Well, it's not a done deal yet!

The proposed legislation is going to the city council for a vote and we need your help. Please come to the city council's public hearing on July 8th at 6:30 and show your support. Even if you don't want to testify, we need lots of people there!

Drop us a line at info@foamfreeseattle.org.

Join our Facebook group.

Check out "Sea of Trash" in the New York Times

WHAT IS POLYSTYRENE?

"Polystyrene foam, a plastics product, is designed for a useful life of minutes or hours but continues to exist in our environment for hundreds or thousands of years...Biodegradable food service ware can be an affordable, safe, ecologically sound alternative to polystyrene foam and other disposable food service ware." – Jean Quan, Oakland City Council member

WHY DO WE SUPPORT A BAN ON POLYSTYRENE?

1. Litter - Much of the litter that accumulates along roadways, in gutters and in our waterways includes broken up polystyrene cups, clamshells and other products. Polystyrene does not biodegrade.

2. Environmental - Plastics, including tiny broken up bits of polystyrene, forms a thick soup of floating material in part of the Pacific Ocean. Limited studies show plastics elsewhere in the system.

3. Recycling - Can't recycle polystyrene in Washington!

for more information, or to join our email list, please contact us at
info@foamfreeseattle.org