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By Prabitha Natarajan
One of my favorite local restaurant’s owners asked me which one looks better – black or clear. We were talking about plastic takeout food containers. I said only half-jokingly that I like my food with no plastic at all. But he was smart to give me an idea of all the different factors food establishment owners consider when making what might seem to us trivial decisions.
I got involved in a project as part of a subcommittee within MEEC (Medford Energy and Environment Committee) and we surveyed local Medford restaurants to understand their usage of black plastic takeout food containers. This was done with the aim of requiring restaurants to transition to environmentally safe and healthier alternatives for takeout containers for the health of our residents.
When hot food is placed in plastic containers or when food is reheated in them, like in a microwave, harmful chemicals and microplastics leach into the food, exposing us to harmful substances.
A study found that some black plastic household items and black plastic takeout containers have toxic flame retardants and other toxic chemicals in them. That's because the black plastic is created using plastic recycled from electronic waste.
Another key factor to consider is that those black plastic containers cannot be recycled. The optical sensors at recycling facilities do not detect black plastic, meaning 100% is sent to landfills or incinerators, where they release toxic components into our air, land, and water.
Following this, a recommendation from the Medford Board of Health was sent to food establishments to switch away from black plastics to clear plastic (no cost difference to restaurants) or to compostables and aluminum options.
What this means for you: you can request your favorite restaurant to switch away from black plastic or consider no-plastic alternatives. You can sign this petition https://c.org/M9fjWdB25L to provide your support for an ordinance to switch away from black plastic that other towns and cities have already put in place, such as Brookline, Hudson, Needham, Pembroke and Newton. You can read more about that here: https://www.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2025/06/massachusetts-municipalities-continue-make-progress-single-use-plastics.
Do check https://www.beyondplastics.org/fact-sheets/black-plastic for more information. If you are interested to learn more about sustainable practices for public and environmental health, please subscribe to the Zero Waste Medford newsletter.
Prabitha Natarajan is a resident of Medford, a member of Medford Energy and Environment Committee, and an organizer for Zero Waste Medford.
