Michael Bloomberg has one final task on his agenda as Mayor of New York, to approve a city-wide ban on plastic foam products.
According to the Associated Press, foam products add 23,000 tons of trash to the city's waste system per year and the ban could save the city millions in disposals costs. The ban would also apply to containers used to hold raw meat or prepackaged products, the Washington Post reported.
Bloomberg proposed the ban in his State of the City speech in February.
"One product that is virtually impossible to recycle and never bio-degrades is Styrofoam," Bloomberg said. "Something that we know is environmentally destructive and that may be hazardous to our health that is costing taxpayers money and that we can easily do without and is something that should go the way of lead paint."
The City Council held a hearing Monday to discuss the proposed ban of Styrofoam, which offers non-recyclable polystyrene and explore alternative solutions for recycling. Restaurant owners argue containers are cheaper and keep food warmer. However, environmentalists argue that the foam takes longer to break down in landfills.
"There are times when things are great, and at one time in our culture, polystyrene might have been something that we all thought was good, but it doesn't work anymore," said Debby Lee Cohen of Styrofoam Out of Schools. "It's outdated, and we know it doesn't fit into our infrastructure."
Dart, the world's largest manufacturer of plastic foam cups and food trays, has reportedly offered to pay the city's recycling program, which includes cleaning and distributing the containers to a recycling plant in Indiana.
"New York City pays $86 a ton to landfill foam. We're offering to pay $160 to recycle it," said Michael Westerfield, Dart's director of recycling. "We're relieving the city of the burden."
According to Crain's New York Business, the city currently pays $2 million a year to put polystyrene in landfills. Dart's idea would reportedly provide the city with a $4 million revenue stream. Elected Mayor, Bill de Blasio, said Monday that he supports Bloomberg's idea.
San Francisco and several other cities have banned such containers. A vote on the measure has not been scheduled.
