Oregon's ban against Styrofoam takeout containers takes effect

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — An Oregon law pushing restaurants to use eco-friendly takeout containers is now in effect.

Approved by the Oregon Senate and House in 2023, Senate Bill 543 was officially enacted on Jan. 1. The legislation bans food vendors from giving customers prepared dishes in polystyrene foam containers, commonly referred to as Styrofoam.

Food vendors who violate this law could face a penalty of up to $100 penalty for each day of the violation. Other people who sell the foam containers, or use them to distribute food, would also face a penalty of up to $500 for each day of violation.

Although Oregon’s Styrofoam container ban has just gone into effect, residents in nine cities throughout the state are no strangers to the ban. Portland City Council enacted an ordinance against the containers in 1990. Eugene leaders approved a similar ordinance nearly three decades later in 2019.

According to the City of Portland, the measure aims to “prevent litter and protect wildlife.”

“Products made of polystyrene foam are difficult to recycle and often end up as litter in our open spaces, rivers and oceans,” the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability said. “The foam breaks down into small pieces that harm wildlife and aquatic animals when they eat it, thinking it's food.”

Washington banned polystyrene foam containers for similar reasons in June 2024. Washington, D.C., Colorado, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont have prohibited the containers as well.