Advertisement

Header Utility Menu

  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Events

LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Instagram Get Our App

  • Login

Virginia Business

Mobile Menu

  • Issues
  • Industries
    • Banking/Finances
    • Business Law
    • Commercial Real Estate
    • Economic Development
    • Education
    • Energy/Green
    • Federal Contracting
    • Government
    • Healthcare
    • Hotels/Tourism
    • Insurance
    • Ports/Trade
    • Small Business
    • Technology
    • Transportation
  • Regions
    • Central Virginia
    • Eastern Virginia
    • Northern Virginia
    • Roanoke/New River Valley
    • Shenandoah Valley
    • Southern Virginia
    • Southwest Virginia
  • Reports
    • Best Places to Work
    • Business Person of the Year
    • CEO Pay
    • Coronavirus 2020
    • Generous Virginians Project
    • Legal Elite
    • Most Influential Virginians
    • Maritime Guide
    • Site Locator
    • The Big Book
    • Virginia CFO Awards
  • Company News
    • For the Record
    • People
  • Opinion
  • Lists
  • Awards/Events
    • Diversity Leadership Series
    • Vote Now for Women in Leadership
    • Virginia 500
    • Legal Elite
    • CFO Awards
    • Big Book of Lists
    • 100 People To Meet
    • Best Places To Work
  • Virginia 500
    • Read the issue
    • Order a copy
    • Buy an award plaque
    • Nominate execs for 2021

Advertisement

Header Primary Menu

  • virginiabusiness.com
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

Home News Virginia restaurants grapple with plastic foam container ban

Virginia restaurants grapple with plastic foam container ban

Food vendors in violation can receive up to $50 in penalties per day

Published March 1, 2021 by David Tran | Capital News Service

Compostable takeout containers are one of many options food vendors have to put their food in. House Bill 1902 bans food vendors from using plastic foam containers. Photo by David Tran
Compostable takeout containers are one of many options food vendors have to put their food in. House Bill 1902 bans food vendors from using plastic foam containers. Photo by David Tran, Capital News Service

RICHMOND, Va. — From vermicelli bowls to crispy chicken, Pho Luca’s, a Vietnamese-owned Richmond restaurant, uses plastic foam containers to package takeout meals. That may soon change after the General Assembly recently passed a bill banning such packaging.

After negotiations on a Senate amendment, the House agreed in a 57-39 vote last week on an amendment to House Bill 1902, which bans nonprofits, local governments and schools from using polystyrene takeout containers. The Senate passed the amended bill in a 24-15 vote.

“We’re just leveling the playing field,” said Del. Betsy B. Carr, D-Richmond, about the amendment. “So not only do restaurants, but nonprofits and schools will be subject to this ban in 2025.”

Food chains with 20 or more locations cannot package and dispense food in polystyrene containers as of July 2023. Remaining food vendors have until July 2025. Food vendors in violation of the ban can receive up to $50 in civil penalty each day of violation.

Carr said she is glad Virginia is taking the lead to curb plastic pollution and that the measure will “make our environment cleaner and safer for all of our citizens [by] not having [polystyrene] in the ditches and in the water and in the food that we consume.”

This is the second year the bill was sent to a conference committee. Last year’s negotiation resulted in a reenactment clause stipulating the bill couldn’t be enacted until it was approved again this year by the General Assembly.

The COVID-19 pandemic loomed over this year’s bill dispute as businesses shift to single-use packaging, such as polystyrene, to limit contamination.

Lawmakers skeptical of the polystyrene ban spoke out on the Senate floor, arguing the ban will hurt small businesses who rely on polystyrene foam containers, which are known for their cheaper cost.

“The places that give me these [polystyrene] containers are the places that are struggling the most right now,” said Sen. Jen A. Kiggans, R-Virginia Beach.

The pandemic has financially impacted the restaurant industry. In 2020, Virginia’s food services sector lost more than 20% of its employees from 2019, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Like many small businesses, Pho Luca’s has relied on polystyrene foam takeout packaging because it is affordable and functional.

Dominic Pham, owner of Pho Luca’s, said he has been in contact with several vendors that sell polystyrene alternatives, but it has been a challenge for Pham to find suitable alternatives.

Pho Luca’s currently uses plastic foam containers that cost about a nickel per container, Pham said. The alternatives will cost about 55 cents more. However, Pham said he is willing to make the change, recognizing that polystyrene containers are detrimental to the environment.

Pham said he distributed surveys to consumers on the possibility of raising prices to offset the cost of polystyrene alternatives. The results were overwhelmingly positive.

“Even if we have to upcharge them a dollar for the recyclable, reusable containers, people (are) happy to do that, they don’t mind,” Pham said.

The use of plastic foam containers has risen during the COVID-19 pandemic. Several states and cities have reversed or delayed restrictions and bans on single-use plastics since April 2020, according to a USA Today report.

The pandemic also has resulted in an increase in single-use plastics, such as plastic bags and personal protective equipment. A 2020 report in the Environmental Science & Technology journal estimated plastic packaging to increase 14% as consumers seek out prepackaged items due to sanitary concerns.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic sparked renewed interest in single-use plastics, environmental organizations and businesses have spoken against the use of plastic foam containers. Polystyrene biodegrades slowly and rarely can be recycled, posing a risk to wildlife and human health, according to Environment Virginia.

MOM’s Organic Market, a mid-Atlantic grocery chain, has used compostable containers and cups since 2005.

“I think that it’s the right thing to do for the environment, for communities, for our residents,” said Alexandra DySard, the grocery chain’s environment and partnership manager.

DySard said purchasing compostable takeout containers instead of polystyrene foam containers has not financially hurt the chain. She said using a plastic lid that can be recycled locally is a better alternative than using polystyrene foam.

Polystyrene alternatives will become more affordable and accessible the more businesses use those products, DySard said.

“If it’s a statewide change, that’s kind of the best case scenario because everybody makes the change at once,” Dysard said. “And it’s driving demand for the product up and costs down.”

The bill now heads to the governor’s desk. If signed, Virginia will join states such as Maryland and Maine to ban polystyrene foam containers.

Capital News Service is a program of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Robertson School of Media and Culture. Students in the program provide state government coverage for a variety of media outlets in Virginia.

 

Subscribe to Virginia Business.

Get our daily e-newsletter.

Related Stories

Virginia State Capitol. Courtesy Virginia Department of Historic Resources.

Could Democratic General Assembly repeal Va.’s right-to-work laws?

Right-to-work backers say repeal would harm Virginia's economic development efforts

Virginia Values Act supporters

LGBTQ Groups Celebrate Passage of ‘Historic’ Virginia Values Act

Virginia will be the first Southern state to pass nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ residents.

Virginia State Capitol. Photo by Conor Lobb, VCU Capital News Service

Lawmakers advance bills to compensate first responders hit by COVID-19

Measures would allow firefighters, EMTs, police, correctional officers to file for workers' comp

Trending

Finance/Insurance: STEPHAN Q. CASSADAY

Finance/Insurance: PAUL B. MANNING

Federal Contractors/Technology: JASON PROVIDAKES

Education: ANNE M. KRESS

Artemis I to launch with help from Va. contractors

Sponsored Stories

Why is my Less Than Truckload (LTL) freight pricing going up and my service level going down?  

Beyond Juneteenth – How Capital One is Commemorating and Implementing Change

How We Help Your Business Operate Better

Before the Breach: Get Serious About Cyber Resilience

Professionals are Discovering What it Means to Live Uniquely in the Alleghany Highlands of Virginia

Riverside Logistics Celebrates 25th Anniversary!

Girls for a Change Empowers Black Youth for the Future Workforce

The Jackson Ward Collective is equipping Black-owned small businesses with the tools for success

Advertisement

Advertisement

Trending

Finance/Insurance: STEPHAN Q. CASSADAY

Finance/Insurance: PAUL B. MANNING

Federal Contractors/Technology: JASON PROVIDAKES

Education: ANNE M. KRESS

Artemis I to launch with help from Va. contractors

Sponsored Stories

Why is my Less Than Truckload (LTL) freight pricing going up and my service level going down?  

Beyond Juneteenth – How Capital One is Commemorating and Implementing Change

How We Help Your Business Operate Better

Before the Breach: Get Serious About Cyber Resilience

Professionals are Discovering What it Means to Live Uniquely in the Alleghany Highlands of Virginia

Riverside Logistics Celebrates 25th Anniversary!

Girls for a Change Empowers Black Youth for the Future Workforce

The Jackson Ward Collective is equipping Black-owned small businesses with the tools for success

Get Virginia Business directly on your tablet or in your mailbox!

Subscribe to Virginia Business

Advertisement

Advertisement

Footer Primary Menu

  • virginiabusiness.com
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

Footer Secondary Menu

  • Industries
  • Regions
  • Reports
  • Company News
  • Events

Sign Up For Our Newsletter

Sign Up

LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Instagram Get Our App

Privacy Policy Cookie Policy

Footer Utility Menu

Copyright © 2023 Virginia Business. All rights reserved.

Site Maintained by TechArk