America Shouldn’t Run on Styrofoam
I’m sure you can remember some small school petition you might have signed or heard about when you were younger. In my middle school, I remember a girl went around and got the signatures of a few students to limit the amount of french fries served in our cafeteria. Gaining something around 20 signatures, the petition wasn’t really that effective but gained the attention of some higher ups. They did, in fact, think it was a good idea to stop serving french fries every day and made a change for the better, which earned the student a special kind of hatred from the 430 other french-fry loving students. However, while this little petition did have a some influence in our school, an elementary school petition is having huge impact on our nation.
A petition launched on Change.org by Park School in Brookline, Massachusetts has raised the attention of people across the country and has gotten over
150,500 signatures. It seems the fourth and fifth graders of the elementary school were taught about the dangers of styrofoam use and wanted to make a practical difference, noting that Dunkin Donuts predominately uses styrofoam cups and has served over 1.7 billion coffees to customers worldwide. The petition boldly states, “We have come to a conclusion, these cups are really affecting our lives, your life, and everything you care about. We’re going to prove to you that Dunkin’ Donuts has to stop using Styrofoam or else there will be big consequences.” But what is it about this petition that is causing it to gain so much traction?
Well, the petition argues three points: 1) Styrofoam harms the environment 2) Styrofoam is harmful to animal health and 3) Styrofoam use is harmful to our health.
Styrofoam is the foam form of Polystyrene, which is made from petroleum (a non-renewable resource). It has been banned in over 100 cities due to it’s aid in depleting the ozone layer and contributing to Global Warming, while it also is a principle component of urban litter and is often not recyclable due to food and grease contamination.
Furthermore, urban runoff causes styrofoam to break off into small, non-biodegradable pieces that find its way back into the ocean. When this styrofoam is ingested by marine life and other wildlife, they are often harmed or even killed.
Moreover, Styrofoam is a suspected carcinogen and neurotoxin that leaches into our food and drink when they are warm and styrene has been found in 100% of human tissue and breast milk that was tested for it and has been tied to respiratory issues and cancer.
Thus, these elementary school students have a big point about the harms that come to our bodies and our world because of the amount of styrofoam cups that Dunkin Donuts uses, and these little kids are causing big trouble for the Dunkin Donuts corporation. Show your support by signing their petition and choose not to drink or eat from styrofoam containers!
Candace Cody
Sources:
http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic967858.files/PolystyreneFactSheets.pdf