Ban on foam takeout containers in Washington starts June 1

Those foam clamshell containers long used by restaurants for takeout food will soon be illegal statewide in Washington.

Coffee cups, plates, trays and other food and drink carriers made from the same material – known as expanded polystyrene – will also be outlawed. Single-use foam coolers, too. The prohibition on the sale and distribution of these products will take effect June 1 under a law the Legislature approved in 2021.

“It’s a big deal,” Heather Trim, executive director of Zero Waste Washington said of the restrictions. “We have had, over time, just an explosion in the use of single-use...