HUNAN XIEYING PACKAGING CO.,LTD

Each year, Americans toss more than 80 billion single-use cups. But is switching from foam to paper really better for the environment?

ROOKLINE’S BAN of polystyrene food and beverage containers in late 2013 came just before a council vote in New York City to do the same. More than 75 cities and counties in California already have similar restrictions, and more local governments around the country are considering them.

But are paper cups really any better?

“There are trade-offs,” says Tim Greiner, managing director of Pure Strategies, a sustainability consultancy in Gloucester with a focus on product design. “We find this often when we compare different types of products for similar use.” In the case of paper vs. polystyrene, he says, “one is better on climate change and water” — that would be foam — “one is better on toxicity, and neither is great on recyclability.”