What are polystyrene plastics?

Polystyrene plastics are a type of thermoplastic made from styrene—a carcinogen made from other highly hazardous chemicals benzene and ethylbenzene.

Common uses of polystyrene include food packaging, toys, electronics, and building materials. Polystyrene comes in two forms, rigid and foam, with the latter commonly referred to by its trade name, Styrofoam. Rigid forms of polystyrene include expanded polystyrene (EPS), extruded polystyrene (XPS), and high-impact polystyrene (HIPS).

The Problem

From production and use to disposal, polystyrene poses serious threats to human health and the environment, exposing low-income communities and communities of color, workers, and consumers to dangerous chemicals.

Making polystyrene threatens our communities, health, and climate

Polystyrene’s chemical building blocks cause cancer and other health problems.
- Styrene is the basic building block of polystyrene. It is a harmful carcinogen associated with leukemia and lymphoma, and can cause respiratory and eye irritation, vision and hearing loss, and impaired memory and concentration. The creation of styrene involves benzene and ethylbenzene, additional fossil fuel-based chemicals that are harmful to health. Benzene is a carcinogen also linked to leukemia as well as cancers of the blood, and can cause reproductive harm. Ethylbenzene is a possible human carcinogen and causes skin and eye irritation as well as kidney, lung, and liver cancer in animal studies.
Production pollutes the air and disproportionately exposes local communities to harmful chemicals.
- Styrene, benzene, and ethylbenzene can all be released into the air during production of polystyrene. According to the 2022 Toxics Release Inventory data, U.S. styrene facilities reported releasing 32 million pounds of styrene into the air, while a reported 3.2 million pounds of benzene and 2.1 million pounds of ethylbenzene were released. Styrene factories are located throughout the U.S., exposing communities near production and disposal sites. Multiple production sites are located in states like Texas and Louisiana, which are already overburdened by pollution due to the high presence of the fossil fuel and petrochemical industry.
Polystyrene production relies on dirty fossil fuels and massive energy consumption that are driving climate change.
- Polystyrene is petroleum-based plastic, derived from natural gas and oil. The extraction of fossil fuels requires huge amounts of energy and vastly contributes to the emissions of greenhouse gases, negatively impacting climate change.

Polystyrene exposes children, pregnant women, and consumers to toxic additives

Polystyrene is often filled with chemical additives used to provide plastic with physical properties, which can expose consumers in additional ways to toxic chemicals.
- While the use of styrene is already concerning in itself, chemical additives commonly used in polystyrene include harmful phthalates and flame retardants. These additives are not chemically bound to plastic and can migrate or leach out, exposing consumers when coming in contact with products, or when they contaminate indoor air, dust, drinking water, and food. As a result, these toxic chemicals can make their way into our bodies, posing health risks.
- Ethylbenzene has been found to leach from polystyrene food-contact materials into food. While the levels that have been detected in food are considered low, this has important implications for human health and further highlights the risks behind the toxic additives used in the production of polystyrene.
An October 2024 Toxic-Free Future peer-reviewed study found higher levels of flame retardants in high-impact polystyrene plastic (HIPS).
- Toxic-Free Future’s peer-reviewed research measuring toxic flame retardants in black plastic household items found that higher levels of flame retardants associated with carcinogenicity, endocrine disruption, neurotoxicity, and reproductive and developmental toxicity, were found in styrene-based plastics. Some of the products with the highest levels of flame retardants included toy costume beads, a sushi tray, and kitchen utensils made of HIPS.

Production and disposal disproportionately harm vulnerable communities

Polystyrene production and disposal pose serious health hazards to workers and frontline communities.
- During production, styrene, benzene, and ethylbenzene are used, putting workers at production sites at risk of exposure. These toxic air pollutants also impact frontline communities living nearby. The disposal of polystyrene also creates health risks—as a plastic that is not biodegradable due to its complex chemical structure, it isn’t recyclable and often winds up in landfills. Polystyrene then ends up getting burned during disposal, releasing styrene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and carbon monoxide into the air.
Low-income communities and communities of color are disproportionately exposed to polystyrene’s toxic chemical emissions.
- Plastic production factories in the U.S are commonly located within low-income communities and communities of color. One example of this is Cancer Alley, a stretch of communities in Louisiana that is home to one of the largest polystyrene and styrene facilities in the world, and over 200 petrochemical plants. Poverty rates in Cancer Alley are greater than the national average (19% compared to 11.5%), and there is a larger percentage of Black residents compared to Louisiana’s state average. Residents of Cancer Alley bear the burden of the petrochemical industry, being at greater risk of cancer and respiratory issues due to air pollution.

Polystyrene is harmful to the end

Polystyrene is not easily recycled due to its composition and tendency to be contaminated by food and drinks, but when it ends up in landfills, harmful chemicals are polluted into the environment.
- As a result, people can be exposed to the harms of polystyrene throughout its lifecycle from production to disposal, and states and retailers have begun eliminating the use of polystyrene in food packaging.
Polystyrene contributes to the growing microplastics problem.
- Polystyrene doesn’t biodegrade, and when it sits in landfills the plastic can become brittle, breaking down into microplastics that leach into water, which then contaminates drinking water and exposes marine animals.

The Solution

Now is the time to advance meaningful common-sense government and corporate policies to ban polystyrene. To prevent toxic pollution and exposures and address environmental justice concerns and the climate crisis, governments and companies must adopt comprehensive safer chemicals policies to reduce and eliminate the production, use, and disposal of the toxic chemicals involved in polystyrene’s lifecycle and of polystyrene itself, while at the same time advancing the use of safer chemicals and materials.

The good news is that safer alternatives are readily available.

What are safer solutions to polystyrene plastic?

The good news is that safer alternatives exist.

Reducing plastics is the first step. There are many unnecessary uses of polystyrene plastics, from packaging to hair accessories.
Many safer, biodegradable options for packaging exist, such as recycled paper/cardboard, bagasse, bamboo and bamboo leaf, palm leaf, paper fiber, wheat fiber, and wood.

What's happening now?

Updated as of September 27, 2024

Safer solutions are not only in reach, but governments and corporations around the world have enacted or are considering policies to phase out polystyrene and switch to safer products.

Retailer commitments

Major retailers have taken steps to eliminate polystyrene to move towards their sustainability goals. McDonalds stopped using Styrofoam in sandwich packaging in 1990, but committed to fully eliminating polystyrene foam packaging (e.g. cups and takeout containers) globally in 2018. In 2020, major fast-food chain Dunkin’ Donuts banned polystyrene cups.

State policies

As of 2024, six states banned all uses of Styrofoam: ME, MD, NJ, VT, CO, and WA. An additional four states have passed bans that will begin starting in 2025: CA, DE, OR, and RI.
Washington state has banned expanded polystyrene (EPS) packing peanuts, loose fill packaging, portable coolers, and food service products. They are also considering regulations for Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene and Xylene (BTEX) substances through its Safer Products for Washington law, which could include additional bans on polystyrene.
New York has also banned EPS foam containers and loose fill packaging.

Federal policies

Currently, styrene is not regulated under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), but in March of 2024, the EPA proposed styrene as a priority chemical to undergo risk evaluation.

International policies

Countries across the world have banned polystyrene in recent years. Some examples include Canada, Chile, Peru, and Caribbean islands including Saint Lucia and Barbados in the Western Hemisphere; the European Union; Kenya, Seychelles, and Zimbabwe in Africa; India, Thailand, and Taiwan in Asia; New Zealand, and a number of Pacific Islands including Samoa, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.

BAN STYRENE AND POLYSTYRENE PLASTICS

Our Key Projects & Priorities

Toxic-Free Future is working to advance common-sense corporate and governmental policies to ban this dangerous plastic and advance safer solutions for communities, workers, and consumers.

Safer Products for Washington Act

In 2024, Washington state announced a proposal to identify benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene (BTEX) substances as a priority chemical class as part of the next cycle of regulations in the Safer Products for Washington law, the nation’s strongest law regulating toxic chemicals in products and packaging. Washington state has a ban on some polystyrene packaging, but should ban the use of ethylbenzene to make all plastic packaging.

Safer Products for Washington image of the Capitol of Olympia

What is the truth about recycling?

When it comes to plastic, it’s now abundantly clear that recycling can’t turn plastic into a safe and sustainable material. The only real solution is to reduce our reliance on plastic by moving to safer and reusable materials.