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REDUCING THE USE OF STYROFOAM CONTAINERS

The Ministry of Development through the Department of Environment, Parks and Recreation (JASTRe) has launched a campaign in conjunction with World Environment Day 2013 celebration to reduce the use of styrofoam containers in Brunei Darussalam to lessen the amount of solid waste, while at the same time, reducing the risk of potential health hazards that may come from styrofoam products.

As an initial stage of the campaign, JASTRe has advised schools in the country to reduce the use of styrofoam containers in their respective canteens.

There are three schools namely Sekolah Menengah Sayyidina Hasan, Maktab Duli Pengiran Muda Al-Muhtadee Billah and Pusat Tingkatan Enam Katok that have been successful in encouraging people to make use of reusable containers and turning away from those made from styrofoam.

Styrofoam is a trade name for polystyrene, which is made of petrol – a non-renewable resource. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1986, the production process of polystyrene is the fifth largest hazardous waste producer. Styrofoam is a material that does not decompose easily and is resistant to photolysis, a process of decomposition by the action of light. It will take more than 500 years to decay.

Producing styrofoam leads to about 57 types of toxic materials that not only pollute the air but it also produce solid waste and sewage sludge that needs to be properly disposed. Styrofoam manufacturing uses 'hydrofluorocarbons' (HFCs) which negatively affects the ozone layer and global warming. HFCs are less detrimental to the ozone than CFCs, which they replaced in the manufacturing of Styrofoam, but it is thought that the impact of HFCs on global warming is much more serious. Due to the lightweight structure that causes the styrofoam to easily drift to sea, rivers and irrigation, they are classified as 'marine debris' by many countries in the world.