Indian Time - A Voice from the Eastern Door

By Mahlon Smoke

Tsi Snaihne. For many years, plastic and Styrofoam have been the 'go to' for many take-outs for restaurants. However, with the negative effects on the environment and in the production of Styrofoam, the use of Styrofoam causes more harm than good.

Styrofoam is made from polystyrene, which is a petroleum-based plastic. Styrofoam is actually the trade name for polystyrene. It's popular because of its light weight, good insulation properties, and advantage as a packing material for shipping without adding weight. Unfortunately, for all of Styrofoam's good points, data has shown that Styrofoam also has harmful effects.

Styrene is the foundational ingredient used to make polystyrene. It is broadly used in the manufacture of plastics, resins and rubber. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer have established styrene as a possible human carcinogen. Those who work in styrene product manufacturing and are regularly exposed to high levels of styrene have experienced acute health effects, including the following: Irritation of the skin, irritation of the eyes, irritation of the upper respiratory tract and gastrointestinal effects.

Chronic exposure to styrene leads to further complications, including effects on the nervous system. Symptoms of chronic exposure include depression, headache, fatigue, weakness and minor effects on kidney function.

Have you ever heard of the term F-O-R-E-V-E-R? Styrofoam is non-biodegradable and appears to last 'forever'. It's resistant to photolysis, or the breaking down of materials by photons originating from light. This, combined with the fact that Styrofoam floats, means that large amounts of polystyrene have accumulated along coastlines and waterways around the world. It is considered a main component of marine debris.

In the last decade new regulations and laws are being passed that would help lessen the use of plastic straws and Styrofoam and being replace with biodegradable straws and containers, made from biodegradable materials like cardboard and recyclable materials.

Down in a little restaurant called Cheyy's Place, they have been doing some research on how they can become more environmentally friendly. Changing from Styrofoam to biodegradable products took time and once they had saved up for new products, they ordered it and today; Cheyy's Place is the first restaurant in Akwesasne to use biodegradable straws and containers.

Jonathan Lazore, co-owner and cook for Cheyy's Place spoke about how this is a huge step for not only his place of business but as a way to set an example. For the last two years, Cheyy's place has been home to their chicken and ribs and now, they can be known for using environmentally friendly straws and take-out containers. The biodegradable straws are made from sugar cane, cardboard, and recyclable materials, these straws can be thrown out and will eventually degrade in the landfills and thus causing no real future harm to the environment.

Lazore takes great pride in being one of the first, which he also hopes he will not be the last. As an advocate for every other business to do so, Lazore stated, "It's our little part that we can do. Hopefully, everyone will jump on as well,".

Lazore added how biodegradable utensils will be next. He hopes that if they save some more, they will eventually switch over to solar power to power their restaurant.

Cheyy's Place is located at to 238 School Rd., Tsi Snaihne.

To assist in making the change over to environmentally friendly products, they are holding raffles all summer for amazing prizes. This month is camping set with a large tent and two sleeping bags, each ticket will be $5.00 with a purchase of food. This event will be going on all summer and the winner announced at the end of the month.