After years of delay, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that New York City’s Styrofoam ban is slated to begin by Jan. 1, 2019.
“There’s no reason to continue allowing this environmentally unfriendly substance to flood our streets, landfills and waterways.”
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| After years of delay, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that New York City’s Styrofoam ban is slated to begin by Jan. 1, 2019. (iStock) |
By Nikki M. Mascali, Metro
Take-out is a quintessential part of New Yorkers’ lives, but come
January, they can expect to start seeing a lot less of its bulky,
non-recyclable aftermath as the city’s Styrofoam ban is slated to go
into effect by Jan. 1, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday.
The announcement came after a lawsuit to prevent the ban was dismissed last
week and means that food-service facilities, manufacturers and stores
can no longer have, use or sell single-service Expanded Polystyrene
(EPS) foam products like cups, plates or clamshell containers or
loose-fill packaging such as packing peanuts in the city.
“New York City’s ban on Styrofoam is long overdue, and New Yorkers
are ready to start using recyclable alternatives,” de Blasio said.
“There’s no reason to continue allowing this environmentally unfriendly
substance to flood our streets, landfills and waterways.”
In a statement, the city said it will work with businesses across the
five boroughs to make sure they understand the new law and help them
make the transition to replace Styrofoam. There will be a six-month
grace period from when the ban starts on Jan. 1 before fines will be
imposed.
If able to prove that purchasing alternative, non-EPS products would
create financial hardship, non-profits and small businesses earning less
than $500,000 in revenue annual will be able to apply for exemptions
from the Department of Small Business Services. SBS will accept
applications for hardship waivers in the fall.
The Styrofoam ban was first passed in December 2013 and slated to go
into effect in January 2016, but advocates from the Dart Container
Company claimed polystyrene was recyclable, and the Styrofoam ban was
overturned in September 2015.
However, the city did its own study and found that the products were
not, in fact, able to be recycled in an “economically feasible or
environmentally effective” way.
“In dismissing a lawsuit that sought to block this important
environmental initiative, the court recognized that the city’s
determination to ban food service foam products was ‘a painstakingly
studied decision’ and ‘was in no way rendered arbitrarily or
capriciously,’” said Corporation Counsel Zachary W. Carter. “The court
has cleared the way for the city to begin its outreach to businesses so
they are aware of and can prepare for the law’s specific requirements
before any enforcement occurs.”
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