Environment New Mexico is working across the state to take on the waste that’s killing our wildlife

Environment New Mexico

Albuquerque, New Mexico — Environment New Mexico is deploying dozens of door-knockers this summer, including in Santa Fe, Los Alamos and Albuquerque, to help educate New Mexicans about the plastic waste that is killing our wildlife.

“Nothing that we use for a couple of minutes should pollute our waterways for centuries,” said Sanders Moore, director of Environment New Mexico.

Polystyrene — the stuff we call styrofoam — is one of the worst kinds of plastic waste, often used for cups and food containers. Americans throw away an estimated 70 million polystyrene cups every day. About a third of that plastic waste ends up in our rivers, lakes and oceans. Plastics don’t biodegrade, which means they remain intact or break down into smaller pieces. Plastic fragments have been found ingested by literally hundreds of species, including 86 percent of all sea turtles and almost half of all seabird and marine mammal species.

Across the country, plastic foam bans have passed in more than 200 cities and other communities, from Portland, Oregon to Portland, Maine. Some companies are also leading the way. By the end of this year, McDonald’s will phase out foam cups and containers worldwide, in favor of 100 percent recycled materials.

Environment New Mexico is advocating for New Mexican cities to lead the way to ban polystyrene containers from restaurants to help protect our waterways and our wildlife.