New York City Banned Foam Containers. Now The Rest Of The State Will, Too.

Three years ago, New York City banned single-use food containers and packing peanuts made out of polystyrene foam. Some suburban counties like Westchester and Nassau soon followed.

Now, the rest of the state is going to give it a try.

New York will become the fourth state to ban single-use foam products when its new law takes effect Jan. 1, following in the footsteps of the city law first implemented at the start of 2019.

The city is exempt from the state law and will continue to implement its local ban. But the rest of New York will be subject to the state ban, which mirrors the city’s rules and aims to dramatically reduce the amount of difficult-to-recycle foam that finds its way into landfills.

“We all grew up with these Styrofoam cups blowing around the street and waterways and parks,” said Basil Seggos, the state environmental conservation commissioner. “That stuff doesn’t biodegrade. So, we’ve seen a good increase in cleanliness in the city and where these bans have been in place, and we’re looking forward to seeing that statewide now.”

Read more: https://gothamist.com/news/new-york-city-banned-foam-containers-now-rest-state-will-too