Milwaukee cannot ban polystyrene foam takeout containers. Wisconsin Act 21 (2018) and the auxiliary-container preemption in Wis. Stat. §100.355 block local foam restrictions.
Local bans on expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam takeout containers, common in cities like New York, San Francisco, and Maine statewide, are preempted in Wisconsin under the auxiliary-container provisions of Wis. Stat. §100.355 (originally Wis. Act 302, 2016) and reinforced by Wis. Act 21 (2018). The Wisconsin Restaurant Association lobbied for the broad preemption to prevent a patchwork of local rules. Milwaukee retailers and restaurants therefore face no local foam ban, even though the city's Climate and Equity Plan (2023) identifies single-use-plastics reduction as a priority. The city has pursued voluntary procurement standards for city facilities and contractors but cannot impose private-sector restrictions.
No local foam violations exist because the city is preempted from regulating. Federal and state food-contact rules under FDA and Wis. ATCP 75 still apply to container safety.
Milwaukee, WI
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Milwaukee, WI
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See how Milwaukee's polystyrene foam rules rules stack up against other locations.
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