Supreme Court rejects New York City motion against halt on Polystyrene ban

By Paul Ploumis (ScrapMonster Author)

December 08, 2015 07:51:30 AM

ALBANY (Scrap Monster): New York City’s motion to appeal against the recent court decision to halt the ban on food service ban has been rejected by the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court.

It must be noted that the New York City expanded polystyrene (EPS) ban had officially gone into effect beginning July 1st this year. According to terms of the ban, food service establishments and stores are being prohibited from selling, distributing or promoting the use of single-service expanded polystyrene (EPS) products including cups, bowls, plates, takeout containers, and trays and polystyrene loose fill packaging.

However, in September, New York Supreme Court Justice Margaret Chan had overturned the ban. In response, the Department of Sanitation, New York City had filed an official appeal against the ban reversal with the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court. After considering the appeal, the Supreme Court on Dec 3rd, denied the city’s appeal.

Restaurant Action Alliance NYC, a coalition of New York City restaurant owners and members of the recycling industry have welcomed the decision. They urged the city to reconsider the proposal by Dart Container Corp. to include all polystyrene products in the City’s dual-stream recycling programme for the next five years. According to them, the court ruling would pave way for foam recycling in New York City.

Meantime, Dart Container Corp. stated that the court ruling will clear the way for the city to embrace foam recycling. Expanded polystyrene is 100% recyclable and the proposal currently sitting on City administration’s desk offers recycling at no cost to tax payers, noted Michael Westerfield, corporate director of Recycling Programs at Dart. Recycling will create hundreds of jobs and also bring in millions of dollars in savings for the city, Westerfield added.