The Farewell to Foam Act has been introduced by senator Chris Van Hollen and congressman Lloyd Doggett and if passed, would restrict the sale and use of foam foodware, foam packing peanuts, and single-use foam coolers beginning in 2026. It follows a report by the campaigning group Ocean Conservancy earlier this autumn, which claimed over 5.6 billion pieces of plastic foam foodware are used in the U.S. each year.
Ocean Conservancy’s associate director of U.S. plastics policy, Dr. Anja Brandon said in an interview the standalone bill is a “significant step forward” and would remove some of the most polluting and harmful plastics out there. Dr. Brandon said plastic foam foodware is one of the top 10 items polluting beaches around the world, according to data from ocean Conservancy’s international Coastal Cleanup.
She added 11 states and Washington D.C., have already introduced legislation limiting the use of plastic foam foodware. The first state to introduce a ban was Maryland, where the amount of plastic foam foodware items collected as part International Coastal Cleanup has declined by 65%.