New York Updates Ban On Polystyrene Containers And Packing Peanuts

NEW YORK — Since New York's ban on styrofoam containers and packing peanuts went into effect Jan. 1, about 100 scofflaws have been reported to the Department of Environmental Conservation.

"Many of the complaints DEC receives about establishments using banned foam products are from the general public who are customers of covered food service providers and stores," DEC officials told Patch. "In the last six months, DEC received approximately 100 complaints across the state of the likely thousands of food service providers, facilities, stores, and manufacturers who are affected by the ban."

The DEC follows up complaints, letting their subjects know about the requirements, clarifying parts of the law and answering questions, providing guidance about how to choose foam-free alternatives that are available, or letting entities know about available waiver request forms to use up foam container supply they still have on hand that could not be used by Jan 1.

To date, the DEC has approved 167 financial hardship waiver requests.

The DEC issued final regulations March 31, but many companies didn't need them.

"I have always believed that styrofoam was bad for the environment. Never used it. Don't like it! In addition, the food doesn't taste good," Ignacio Blanco, owner of Ibiza Kitchen in Chappaqua, told Patch. "We use aluminum containers with plastic lids. During the pandemic, we used what sizes and shapes were available. It was important to us that our food tasted and looked as appealing as possible."

Basically, New York State has the nation's strongest statewide ban of expanded polystyrene.

That's because foam packaging is a clear concern. It is one of the top contributors of environmental litter, hurting wildlife, waterways, and other natural resources, as well as littering communities and natural areas. It is lightweight, breaks apart easily, and does not readily biodegrade. It may also become microplastic pollution.

In addition, it's very difficult to recycle.

The statewide ban came after many municipalities took steps on their own. "Thanks to local bans, nearly two-thirds of New Yorkers were already living in 'foam-free' communities, so they did not notice a change," DEC officials told Patch.

Back in 2017, before New York City issued its ban, the city's department of sanitation did a lot of research and reported back:

For 30 years, attempts to recycle Food-Service Foam—both subsidized and non-subsidized attempts—have failed at each step of the recycling process. The municipalities and programs that DSNY researched tell a very clear story: Food-Service Foam is not capable of being recycled in an environmentally effective or an economically feasible manner.

The municipalities found that Food-Service Foam compacts in collection trucks, breaks into bits, and becomes covered in food residue, making it worthless when it arrives at the material recovery facility (“MRF”). It then blows throughout the MRF, is missed by manual sorters, mistakenly moves with the paper material and contaminates other valuable recycling streams, namely paper, which can be the most consistently valuable commodity in a recycling program. Food-Service Foam is too costly to clean and process compared to virgin material. If some is sorted successfully, the light-weight foam must be stored for months, waiting for enough material to economically ship.

If any Food-Service Foam makes it over these hurdles, the process grinds to a stop due to the struggle to find a buyer. With no buyer, municipalities get stuck with the material and ultimately send the remaining amount of Food-Service Foam that was not already landfilled after the compacting or sorting phases to a landfill.

Here's the state's rule:

• No covered food service provider or store (retail or wholesale) will be allowed to sell, offer for sale, or distribute disposable food service containers that contain expanded polystyrene foam in New York.
• No manufacturer or store will be allowed to sell, offer for sale, or distribute polystyrene loose fill packaging (commonly referred to as packing peanuts) in the state.

"The ban has received a lot of positive feedback and support from the general public, who are happy to see less polystyrene foam in New York and more alternative containers and packaging," DEC officials said.

The co-owner of Bigfoot Ice Cream in Ossining, Stephen Jardine, concurred.

"From the very beginning of Bigfoot Ice Cream we have been committed to using sustainable materials — specifically compostable materials," he told Patch. "Being located in the Hudson River, we feel strongly that the use of plastics and styrofoam are damaging to our ecosystem and unnecessary given the available alternatives. Finally, we also believe our customers enjoy the opportunity to help reduce their impact on the earth whilst enjoying an ice cream!"