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McDonald’s continues to be in the crosshairs of As You Sow (Oakland, CA). The “shareholder advocacy group” once again has targeted the fast food chain in its bid to rid the world of plastic. Calling polystyrene (PS) used in single-use containers, beverage cups and food trays “harmful,” the group is calling out McDonald’s for its failure to eliminate the use of PS in its overseas restaurants.
The fast-food giant phased out the use of PS for hot beverage cups in the United States in 2013, but still uses it in overseas markets where plastic pollution migration into waterways is highest. As You Sow notes in its latest press release that the “same proposal was voted on by shareholders earlier this year and received the support of nearly one-third of shares voted.”
While As You Sow’s release claims that expanded polystyrene (EPS) is “rarely recycled” and, thus, leads to it being discarded in marine environments, the group needs to bone up on the recycling information for this material. According to the 2016 EPS Recycling Rate Report produced by the EPS Industry Alliance, 63 million pounds of EPS postconsumer materials and 55.7 million pounds of post-industrial materials were recycled in 2016, for a total of 118.7 million pounds. EPS can be effectively recycled and reused, and the rate is increasing every year, according to the EPS Industry Alliance, which lists 87 member companies that recycle EPS foam packaging.
As to the problem of EPS foam materials in the marine environment and the hazard that “indigestible pellets” represents for birds, fish and turtles, I would like to remind As You Sow once again that this is a people problem, not a plastics problem. Keeping EPS foam out of the environment takes some effort on the part of people, who should be discarding waste in a place where it can be recycled. People tend to be litterbugs, and that’s a problem no one seems to know how to solve.
As You Sow mentions the “negative health profile” of EPS foam, which is not scientifically proven. According to Dart Container Corp., which makes EPS foam products, the misinformation on EPS foam outweighs the science on this material. “Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are known to harm the Earth’s stratospheric ozone layer. Polystyrene foam foodservice products are not manufactured with CFCs or any other ozone-depleting chemicals. In fact, Dart has never used CFCs in manufacturing molded foam cups,” writes the company on its website. Manufacturers of PS foodservice products that once used CFCs in their manufacturing operations ceased using these blowing agents by 1990, adds Dart.
Additionally, says Dart’s information, “Polystyrene foam products are about 90% air and only 10% polystyrene,” given that an “expansion” agent is used to blow up the miniscule pellets into tiny foam beads. I had the opportunity to tour a Dart Container plant here in Phoenix a number of years ago and witnessed the process of making the foam beads and molding those into cups.
While PS foam products are manufactured using two types of blowing agents, pentane and carbon dioxide, Dart notes in its information that “CO2 is non-toxic, non-flammable, and does not contribute to low-level smog, nor does it deplete the stratospheric ozone layer.” The CO2 used in the manufacture of PS foam “is recovered from existing commercial and natural sources. As a result, the use of this blowing agent technology does not increase the net levels of CO2 in the atmosphere.”
Writing in response to an article on PS foam food packaging that appeared in the Baltimore Sun (“Polystyrene foam is bad for your body and the environment,” Feb. 16, 2017), B.H. Meyer said that the author of the article, Dr. Richard Bruno, “failed to mention that said packaging is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration and must pass rigid testing before it is approved.” Meyer also pointed out in his article, “Polystyrene is no health hazard,” that Bruno “also failed to note that paper packaging, including wraps and hardboard, have more residual compounds on them such as insecticides, fungicides, biocides, fluorinated water repellants, PCGs, dirt and insect parts. For this reason, paper products used in food-contact applications also must meet strict FDA testing regulations.”
Because polystyrene is created from natural substances found in nature, Meyer noted that “trace levels” are found among the “hundreds of chemicals in coffee” and also in cinnamon. “Should we now ban Cinnabons?” Meyer asked sarcastically.
As You Sow notes that “more than 100 U.S. cities or counties have banned or restricted foam packaging.” A quick bit of research showed that as of July 15, 2014, most of those cities/counties (80) are in California. A few bans exist in Oregon and Washington; San Marcos, Texas; and the New England states with ocean frontage, among a few others. But outright bans are the exception, not the rule.
The new proposal to McDonald’s shareholders was co-filed by Actiam, “a leading responsible fund and asset manager, and JLens, a network of Jewish faith-based investors. “If the proposal appears on the company’s proxy, it would be voted on in May 2018,” said As You Sow.
Many decades ago, the PLASTICS Industry Association stood up mightily for the plastics industry to focus on the science and not the hype surrounding this fabulous new material. It made efforts to inform the public about plastics’ benefits, correct misinformation appearing in popular mainstream magazines and newspapers, and promote plastics as the material that would change the world for the better. Maybe it’s time for the association to make new efforts to promote the science of plastics and confront the misinformation head-on.
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