Polystyrene use no threat to climate

LIM KOK BOON, Chairman Malaysian Plastics Forum

(Ecologikal Notes: bonehead.... Let's serve this Mr Lim with Hot Soup everyday in polystyrene bowl)


WE wish to correct some misinformation about polystyrene foam products. Polystyrene products are 100 per cent recyclable and the claims that they pose a human health risk are factually and scientifically unsubstantiated.





The fact that every year, stalls at the Thaipusam festival continue using poly-styrene containers (be it cups or plates) clearly shows that there are reasons why people choose this product in the first place.

Polystyrene products are inexpensive and light-weight with high insulation qualities and more environmentally-friendly than most people realise.

The safety of polystyrene is fully supported by substantiated reports from organisations such as the United States Styrene Information and Research Centre, the Japan Hygienic Olefin and Styrene Plastics Association and the European Food Safety Authority.

The view of the Health Ministry is that polystyrene is safe. Moreover, the safety of polystyrene foam box has been certified under the Malaysian Food Act 1983 (Act 281) and Regulations by Sirim Qas International Sdn Bhd.

The claim that polystyrene contains hazardous materials that harm the environment is not the current view, as polystyrene foam products are not manufactured with chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) or any other ozone-depleting chemicals.

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, only two to three per cent of CFCs used in the United States in the 1980s went towards production of polystyrene packaging products.

It is, therefore, an irony that many so-called environmentalists are harping on the issue of leaching of styrene when in fact, polystyrene foam products are about 90 per cent air and only 10 per cent polystyrene.

We reiterate that bans are overly simplistic and do not get to the real cause of the problem. In determining which materials to use as alternatives for food packaging use, it is important to objectively weigh the integrated pros and cons of costs (i.e. adverse inflationary effects) and the Life Cycle Assessment impact on the environment.

A study by research firm Franklin Associates released a new analysis in March 2006 which showed that poly-styrene foam products were environmentally superior in terms of air and water pollution, energy consumption, emissions of greenhouse gases and solid waste (by volume and weight).

Once again, we wish to stress that the problem lies not with the individual product but with a cultural litter problem that is not being effectively addressed.

Consumers can be assured that the use of polystyrene in food packaging is both environmentally sound and medically safe.

Article Source