Somerville Begins Enforcing Styrofoam Ban
SOMERVILLE (CBS) -- The Styrofoam coffee cup is starting to disappear from the morning routine in Somerville as city inspectors began enforcing a commercial ban on polystyrene foam on Wednesday.
Residents voted for the new law in May 2013 and it went into effect this spring, but members of Somerville's inspectional services department are now going to visit businesses and make sure they aren't using Styrofoam.
Under the new rules, restaurants, delis, food trucks and food-related business can't use foam for cups, plates and take-out containers.
At a Somerville Dunkin' Donuts, there were mixed opinions on the changes for the cups of joe.
"I think it's just making the coffee cup smaller, I don't like it," one customer told WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens.
Others didn't mind the new paper cups.
"It's better for the environment, I guess," another customer said. "It doesn't break down or decompose."
Similar Styrofoam bans are already in place in Amhrest, Brookline, Great Barrington and Nantucket. City officials say polystyrene poses a risk to personal health and the environment.
In Somerville, the first Styrofoam violation will result in a warning for the business, followed by a $100 fine and then a $300 fine for third and subsequent violations.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens reports:
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