The Sierra Club, the Illinois Environmental Council, Faith in Place Action Fund and other groups are supporting an Illinois House measure to phase out single-use foam food ware on Jan. 1, 2025.

Introduced Feb. 13, House Bill 2376 would amend the Environmental Protection Act to prohibit retailers from selling or distributing in Illinois disposable food-service containers composed in whole or in part of polystyrene foam.

Robert Rowe of the Sierra Club Heart of Illinois Chapter and Andrea Densham were among 732 proponents backing the measure at a Feb. 28 hearing of the House Energy and Environment Committee.

“The Great Lakes are one of Illinois’ greatest assets and plastic pollution threatens our Lake,” Densham said. “We must move upstream and prevent pollution at the source.”

The committee approved the bill by an 18-8 vote, and HB2376 on March 1 was placed on calendar for a second reading.