New York City Bans Single-Use Styrofoam Products July 1

NEW YORK CITY -- Foodservice establishments, stores and manufacturers won't be allowed to possess, sell or offer single-service Styrofoam and other polystyrene products in New York City under a ban taking effect July 1. It applies to cups, plates, trays and clamshell containers, along with loose fill packaging like "packing peanuts."

In making the announcement on Jan. 8, Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration said the city's Department of Sanitation has determined that expanded polystyrene foam cannot be recycled, which led to the ban. Sanitation also determined that there is no market for post-consumer collection of the material in a curbside metal, glass and plastic recycling program.

"These products cause real environmental harm and have no place in New York City. We have better options, better alternatives, and if more cities across the country follow our lead and institute similar bans, those alternatives will soon become more plentiful and will cost less," said Mayor de Blasio.

The mayor estimated that the polystyrene ban would remove nearly 30,000 tons of waste from the city's landfills, streets and waterways. The move comes two years after former mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed banning the use of polystyrene cups and containers in the city.

Legislation to ban the material was unanimously passed in the city council in December 2013. An amendment gave the sanitation department a year to determine an "environmentally effective, economically feasible and safe" way to recycle the waste. Under the law, if polystyrene was found not to be recyclable, it had to be banned by the one-year deadline.

The city will not collect fines until January 2016. Nonprofits and businesses with less than $500,000 in annual revenue who can prove the ban will cause them "undue financial hardship" can apply for waivers.

New York is the largest city to ban polystyrene packaging, but follows other cities, including San Francisco, Seattle and Portland, that have enacted similar measures by shifting to alternative products which are biodegradable or otherwise recyclable.