New York State Ban on Some Materials Will Take Effect New Year’s Day

It’s time to say goodbye to foam peanuts as New York State will soon ban some products made of expanded polystyrene, what most of us call Styrofoam. Some restaurants will be changing their take-out containers due to this new ban. Not all are ready for the shift as while the ban will help the environment, it will also come at a cost to consumers.

Owner of Eric’s Office in Canandaigua, Eric Zimmerman, stated: “That’s a typical Styrofoam container. That’s about 16 cents. This is compostable and it’s made from sugar cane and bamboo: 53 cents. So just about triple, times 500 per week, a couple thousand per month.”

At the Rochester Institute of Technology’s Packaging Science School, Department Chair Dan Johnson stated: “It’s particularly problematic if it becomes litter because it breaks into little tiny pieces. So there’s no way to pick it up easily. We really do need to focus on litter. We’ve gotten away from that, but no packaging material should really become litter. They’re all problematic one way or another if they do.”

Source: 13 WHAM