Illinois House Passes Bill Prohibiting Single-Use Foam Containers

SPRINGFIELD, IL — Single-use foam containers and other items used by restaurants would be banned in Illinois starting in 2024 if a bill that passed the House of Representatives on Thursday gets through the Senate and is signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

House Bill 2376 prohibits the sale or use of disposable food containers and other foodware that is made wholly or in part of polystyrene foam. The bill, which was sponsored by Glenview State Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz (D), passed the House 67-43 on Thursday and now awaits action by the Senate, where a similar bill was introduced.

State Senator Laura Fine (D-9th District) is the sponsor of that bill.

“Illinois can and should be the national leader in protecting our environment by curbing the use of single-use plastics,” Gong-Gershowitz wrote in a tweet on Thursday. “This bill takes us closer to that goal.”

Environmental advocates estimate that 22 million pounds of plastic enter the Great Lakes (half of which winds up in Lake Michigan) each year, and that Americans throw away 70 million plastic foam cups each day. If passed into law, Illinois would become the ninth state to ban the use of single-use to-go foam containers, utensils, and cups.

In a statement issued after Thursday’s vote, Jen Walling — the executive director of the Illinois Environmental Council — called the vote a “huge step forward” toward recognizing “we cannot recycle our way out of a plastic pollution crisis.”