Young Activists Urge Businesses to Not Use Polystyrene

Update 8:33 p.m.: Mark's Kitchen, Roscoe's and Takoma Bicycle have also signed the pledge.

At least nine Takoma Park businesses or organizations agreed not to use polystyrene or Styrofoam in their operations at the request of a small group of elementary school students.

On Friday, June 3, 15 members of the Young Activist Club (YAC)—a group of third, fourth and fifth grade students at Piney Branch Elementary School who are seeking to halt the use of polystyrene food service ware at their school and in the community at large—took their campaign to the businesses in downtown Takoma Park. “We (YAC) went to downtown Takoma Park and we talked to various businesses,” said Margo Bloch, a fifth-grader at Piney Branch and a member of the group. “We asked them to sign a pledge to stop using polystyrene and Styrofoam in their businesses, specifically in food service,” she added.

The YAC was able to get “a bunch” of businesses to sign the pledge, Margo said. Some of the businesses that agreed to sign the pledge are: the Takoma Park Animal Clinic, the Volunteer Fire Department, the Silver Spring Takoma Park Co-op, Fairdays Play, Now and Then, S&A Beads, Salon Jam, Old Takoma Ace Hardware and Middle East Cuisine.

The pledge the businesses signed is called “Takoma Park No Styrofoam Food Service Ware Pledge for Businesses.” It reads:

“On behalf of my Takoma Park business, we pledge to not use polystyrene food service ware for anything in our restaurant/store/business. We recognize that polystyrene–resin code #6 – is nonrecyclable, nonreusable, and non-compostable and that is made from styrene, a known neurotoxin and suspected human carcinogen. As an alternative, my business will use reusable or compostable plates, containers, cups, and silver ware to serve our food or drinks. I sign this on behalf of my business because I want to do good for our community, our customers, and our environment.”

The businesses that signed were also provided stickers that say “we went polystyrene free.” Some of the stickers are already posted, said Nadine Bloch, Margo’s mother.

When the students approached a business, they did so without an appointment. Rather, they walked into the companies and organizations cold, and identified themselves, explaining why they were there, “and asked them if they could sign the pledge, or if there was a manager who could sign the pledge,” Margo said.

“If the business people asked what was wrong with polystyrene, we would say it’s bad for our health, and it’s bad for the environment, because it’s a neurotoxin that can get into your brain,” she said. “We also said it can’t get recycled, and it usually is burned in incinerators creating air pollution. Plus we gave them bookmarks that have facts about polystyrene,” she said.

The YAC expects to continue with the outreach campaign because at some of the businesses, the managers were not there and the staff who were there asked the students to come back another time, Margo said. However, another outreach effort likely will not involve as many students because the outreach was held during YAC club time, and the group does not have another club this school year, she said.