Revere, MA Single-Use Items: Polystyrene Foam Rules (2026)

100, effective July 1, 2022 under Ordinance 21-368, prohibits two overlapping groups of businesses from putting polystyrene into circulation. Food establishments, defined broadly to include restaurants and food trucks, may not provide prepared food to customers using polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride or polyethylene terephthalate food service ware under subsection B(1). Separately, retail establishments, meaning any business selling directly to consumers, from grocery and convenience stores to pharmacies and dry cleaners, are barred under B(3) from selling or distributing polystyrene food service ware to customers, and under B(4) from selling or distributing polystyrene foam packing material, including foam peanuts, coolers and shipping containers not fully encased in a more durable material.

The section defines polystyrene to include both foam forms, blown, expanded and extruded, commonly sold as Styrofoam, used for opaque cups, plates, trays and clamshells, and rigid oriented polystyrene used for clear clamshells, cups and utensils. An exemption exists for food prepared or packaged outside the city, and the director of municipal inspections or a designee may grant an establishment a renewable one-year hardship waiver from any specific requirement if no suitable biodegradable, compostable, reusable or recyclable alternative exists. Enforcement follows a warning-then-penalty structure: a warning notice for the first violation, then a monetary penalty for a second violation within a year, capped at $50 for that offense and $100 for every one after, with no more than one penalty imposed in any seven-day period and fifteen calendar days to pay once a notice issues.