Debate over plastic to-go container ban in Springfield

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – We are hearing from local restaurant owners in response to state lawmakers trying to push forward a bill that would ban disposable food containers made of plastic.

Starting next August, the regulations would block restaurants and other food vendors from providing containers containing polystyrene, along with retailers like grocery stores.

Leaders in both the restaurant and plastics industries have said the bill would raise costs for businesses and consumers. “I understand when it was Styrofoam, and we were ahead of the game,” said Nadim Kashouh, Owner of Nadim’s Downtown Mediterranean Grill. “We used plastic containers to package our food to go. But now, what do they have for us in mind to use? Paper products? That’s not going to work. I’m going to put a soup in a paper bowl? So it really does not make sense.”

Advocates for the bill say the chemicals in this plastic contribute to micro-plastics found in the environment, and the human body.