WASHINGTON (January 10, 2018) – Earlier today McDonalds announced plans to stop using polystyrene foam packaging by the end of this year. The American Chemistry Council issued the following statement:
“Every day more companies and consumers are taking important steps to reduce their environmental footprint. From water and resource usage, to energy savings, to efficiency and often to recycling, validated life cycle studies demonstrate plastics and plastic packaging consistently outperform competing materials. The fact is: Polystyrene (PS) foam can be—and is being—recycled in many communities, more so than many alternatives. We are working hard to grow access to foam recycling, and we are also enthusiastic about recently announced advances in chemical recycling for PS foam. Plastics makers are working every day to further improve the already impressive sustainability of plastics.”