New laws are always coming, especially for a city like the City of New York. This one was initially proposed by former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and it’s about banning something. Not surprising, since Bloomberg tried to get a lot of things banned and was successful in some and not so much in others. This time, it is polystyrene, more popularly known as Styrofoam. On Jan. 8, 2015, Mayor Bill de Blasio made it official. Starting on Jul. 1, 2015, Styrofoam items, such as cups, food containers, and packing material cannot be sold. New York City will follow the footsteps of over 70 cities in the USA, including Washington, DC, Minneapolis, San Francisco, Oakland, Portland, Albany, and Seattle. There will be a six-month grace period for the companies to switch over. Businesses and nonprofits with an annual revenue of $500,000 or less can be exempted from the ban, but will have to prove that the use of materials besides plastic foam would cause them financial hardship.
Unlike the ban on large sugary drinks that Bloomberg tried to ban in the city, this one, like the ban on electronic wastes in the trash, was met without much resistance and fanfare. Of course, the Styrofoam manufacturers and sellers made a fuss. However, the average consumer doesn’t really care whether the food comes in a Styrofoam carton or plastic container. Same thing with a cup of coffee, whether in a paper cup of Styrofoam cup. However, it is true that coffee can remain warm longer in a Styrofoam cup than a paper cup. Therefore, say “good bye” to enjoying warm Dunkin Donuts coffee hours after the purchase.
The ban was delayed to give companies who make them come up with a way to recycle used Styrofoam. Dart Container, the largest Styrofoam producer said it is possible to be recycled in a cost effective manner. It even guaranteed that in five years time, all the Styrofoam waste in New York City will be recycled at no cost to the city. That was back on Dec. 29, 2014. In the Huffington Post article that was uploaded on Jan. 9, 2015, “’While much of the waste we produce can be recycled or reused, polystyrene foam is not one of those materials,’ explained Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia in a statement. ‘Removing polystyrene from our waste stream is not only good for a greener, more sustainable New York, but also for the communities who are home to landfills receiving the City’s trash.'” Therefore, the ban will commence.
My previous posts have not discussed this material at all, I suppose I fell into the out-of-sight-out-of-mind trap. Occasionally, I do get a cup of coffee from Dunkin Donuts, their medium cups are Styrofoam. Each time I do, I think about how bad it is for the environment. Other than that, I don’t encounter Styrofoam that much anymore. When I order things online, I find paper products or plastic bags filled with air used as packing materials.
Why’s it bad anyway? Like plastic, it is made of oil based substances, in a way, it is a form of plastic. Oil, the one commodity that we just cannot get away from, a not renewable one too. Unlike plastic, the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and International Agency for Research on Cancer have determined styrene as a possible human carcinogen. Many years ago, I’ve learned that if Styrofoam is heated with food in a microwave, carcinogens may get released into the food. When I used to order food from my boss’ restaurant, I always cringe when the person behind the counter pops the food in a Styrofoam container into the microwave to heat it up. I worked in a freight forwarding company and the boss also had a restaurant at the time. Isn’t that bad enough already? One can develop cancer from eating or drinking out of these things!
According to Earth Resource Foundation, “The National Bureau of Standards Center for Fire Research identified 57 chemical byproducts released during the combustion of polystyrene foam.” I don’t know what those byproducts do and what harm they impose, but the articles make them sound bad. Upon searching for what they are, more articles come up about the harmful chemical byproducts that get released into the air and water from the making of Styrofoam, chemicals considered to be harmful to the environment, as well as to plant and animal life, including humans.
There are other environment impacts, such as all the used Styrofoam products ending up in landfills. However, that pretty much goes for everything else that goes into the trash. At least now, it’s going to be severely limited as more metropolitan areas in the USA start to ban its use. I think this post should act as a reminder of things that we don’t care about or are popular in the news media. This topic did not occur to me until a friend pointed it out on Facebook. Ignorance is not bliss. What one doesn’t know can be hurtful.
Here’s an interesting video that can sum up a good portion that was mentioned above, and then some. Only problem I have is the waste of paper in the video. http://youtu.be/1HlwB26DTw0
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