Halt use of styrofoam boxes for takeaways

Not too long ago, news that several restaurant and cafe chains would stop providing straws generated much fanfare.  

Should we not continue this effort and strongly discourage the use of styrofoam boxes used for takeaways in Singapore? 

Our hectic urban lifestyle means takeaways are an everyday event. Imagine the millions of non-biodegradable styrofoam boxes we are dumping yearly. 

Styrofoam boxes, which are known to leak chemicals and contaminate food, are becoming rarer or even banned in some cities, such as New York in the United States and Penang in Malaysia.

Singapore should start an immediate programme, over three to five years, to rid the country of such waste.

Instead of styrofoam containers, night-market food stalls in other cities use paper boxes, for instance.

We should also encourage families that do regular takeaways in considerable amounts to use reusable containers, such as “tingkat” or tiffin carriers, as we often did in the past.

If we take action now, we can be proud to proclaim the benefits for generations of Singaporeans to come. Climate change is real, and incineration and landfills are no longer the best options.

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