If being a carcinogenic waste of landfill space were a crime, Styrofoam would be on the most wanted list.
From the general production of our take-out boxes and disposable coffee cups to the disposal of these products, Styrofoam, or polystyrene foam, is an utter disaster not only to our general well being but also to the well being of Mother Nature.
According to the EPA and the International Agency for Research of Cancer (IARC), Styrofoam is a possible carcinogen. In fact, chronic exposure to polystyrene foam was deemed so unsafe that the Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration even tried to limit the amount of worker exposure, eventually leading to a 50 parts per million ceiling in most companies.  
More concerning, however, isn’t that we often use this material to insulate our own homes, but that we’re using it to insulate our drinks. While the petroleum-based polystyrene is great in controlling the temperature of your hot coffee, the Earth Resource Foundation notes that it’s also great at leaking contaminants into your super sweet drink and environment.
This seemingly innocent white cup has the makings of a regular jerk using a production process once ranked to be the fifth largest creator of hazardous waste worldwide. Since then, the production has been improved, replacing chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) which damage the Ozone layer with pentane and other organic compounds, but the disposal of our awful friends has not.
While the bottom of polystyrene foam cups may hold the promise of being recycled, the truth is the market for polystyrene recycling is small and shrinking. With so many biodegradable replacements rising up to save the day, many companies aren’t interested in recycling these products, and, even if they are, the recycling requires additional products. With the certainty of closed loop recycling, it’s clear the Styrofoam cup you’re currently staring at will turn into yet another Styrofoam cup. However, Polystyrene foam products exist within a more open loop, meaning that cup could just as easily be turned into a tray or packing peanuts, all of which require additional material.
The paradox that comes with foam has also come with the ban of such products in places such as Taiwan, Portland, Ore., and Orange County, Calif.
The entire recycling process sounds counter-intuitive, and it is.
With the continuous effort towards sustainability, it’s quite disappointing that our path towards a smaller carbon footprint should end at our cold finger tips, and yet that’s what seems to be happening.
Time and time again I look to my friend, the large canteen of decaffeinated coffee in The 5, and each time I’m disappointed to discover the presence of those tiny white cups.
The dining halls and our entire campus is covered with messages related to recycling, so why are we so openly using a product that is not only marring the environment in its very production but which is also not recyclable in our parish?
Perhaps it’s just a matter of cost, availability and just plain ol’ resource allocation.
But according to Discovery News, the allocation of resources doesn’t have to be wasted on products that will end up as waste in our landfills. Instead of utilizing Styrofoam, we can utilize either sugar cane-based alternatives like Biofoam or, better yet, bring our own reusable cups.
Not only would this reduce the amount of waste we put into our landfills, but store-bought mugs typically hold more than the average 8 oz. Polystyrene foam cup. And they’d be a less likely candidate for releasing toxins into your daily cup of Joe.
 
Priyanka Bhatia is a 19-year-old pre-veterinary medicine sophomore from San Jose, Calif. Follow her on Twitter @TDR_PBhatia.
 
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Contact Priyanka Bhatia at [email protected]