Brooklyn, NY – Councilman Bill de Blasio: Ban Styrofoam in Schools and Restaurants.

Brooklyn, NY – New York City’s public school system goes through 850,000 Styrofoam cafeteria trays a day, 4 million in a week and more than 153 million in a school year. As this blog and an accompanying video reported in June, Parents Against Styrofoam in Schools, a grass-roots group arising out of Public School 154 in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, has called for limiting or ceasing the use of polystyrene, a petroleum-based material that can take centuries to decompose.

Now, Councilman Bill de Blasio, Democrat of Brooklyn, wants to go even further. He is introducing a bill in the City Council today to would prohibit the use of polystyrene by City agencies and food establishments. Mr. de Blasio, like the Brooklyn parents, want the school system to switch to either reusable plastic trays or trays that are biodegradable.

“It is mind-boggling that our city, which is becoming a leader on environmental issues, is still using Styrofoam when we know it is extremely harmful to our environment and creating massive amounts of waste,” Mr. de Blasio said.

Mr. de Blasio’s bill would also include a ban on Styrofoam “to-go” containers used by city restaurants and delis. The bill states that “no owner, operator or employee of a food establishment shall place, wrap, or otherwise package food or beverages in packaging made of polystyrene foam or offer for sale food or beverages packed in such material.” [nytimesblog]