Would You Drop a Dime on a Diner For Using Styrofoam?

Lots of progressive, nature-loving cities have passed bans on Styrofoam takeout containers. They don't biodegrade, fill up landfills and get blown all over. Seattle passed its own ban against non-recyclable takeout containers in 2008.

Aside from sporadic city site visits, the only real means of enforcement are regular folks who call or email a hotline number to report violations. So that begs the question: Would you call and narc out a restaurant for using Styrofoam?

Before you make up your mind, let's look at the penalties for violating the Seattle Foam Ban. According to Kelly Rula, who works for Resource Venture, an outreach arm of the Seattle Public Utility which oversees the program, any restaurant or store in violation of the foam ban is first sent two warning letters and then issued a $250 incident fine. Rula also noted that no fines were issued until 2010.

If she had to guess, Rula thinks about 20-30 violations are reported each year. Although the fines are minimal and it sounds like enforcement moves at a predictably glacial bureaucratic speed, it's hard to imagine restaurant owners not having plenty of time to make the switch. But then again, it's awfully Big Brother that we're all somehow deputized to enforce city ordinances. And shoot, some people just really like Styrofoam. It does keep drinks really nice and cold.

So, would you drop a dime on your local diner for using Styrofoam? Leave your answer in the comments below!

Photo: By tjdewey