Should Suffolk Follow NYC Proposed Ban on Plastic-Foam Food Packaging?

As reported in Fort Greene Patch, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is proposing a citywide ban on plastic-foam food packaging, a non-biodegradable polymer environmentalists have derided for years.

The ban will include takeout boxes, cups and trays, forcing restaurants and bodegas to restock, according to The New York Times.

“We can live without it, we may live longer without it, and the doggie bag will survive just fine,” said Bloomberg in excerpts from his speech released on Wednesday. Additionally, public schools would be instructed to remove plastic-foam trays from their cafeterias, the paper reported.

City officials are saying that curtailing an annual waste stream of about 20,000 tons of plastic foam could save up to $20 per ton in recycling costs equaling millions of dollars per year.

But small business owners disagree, saying the costs to use alternative packaging will hurt profits. 

Suffolk County has, in the past, banned substances available commercially that it deemed unsafe for the public.

In 20111, the Suffolk County Legislature banned the sale of chemicals found in some bath salts, resulting in a product it determined was "powdered synthetic cocaine" and had been ingested as a hallucinogen. That same year, which banned the sale of gel candles in Suffolk County. The proposal was who was seriously burned in his family's backyard.

What do you think? Should Suffolk County follow along with New York City and propose a ban of plastic-foam food packaging? Share your opinion in the comment below.