New York City to consider styrofoam food container ban
AP
NEW YORK -- The future of plastic-foam food containers in takeout-loving New York City is up for debate at a hearing set Monday on proposals to ban the containers or explore recycling them.
Some other cities already have similar prohibitions. But the idea of nixing plastic foam cups, plates and to-go cartons in the nation's largest city has spawned a muscular debate between supporters - including environmentalists and Mayor Michael Bloomberg - and opponents, among them restaurateurs and other business interests. Both camps had scheduled rallies outside City Hall before the City Council sanitation committee's Monday afternoon meeting.
The hearing includes several proposals. But the impetus was a Bloomberg-backed measure that would ban foam carryout items, with exceptions for raw meat and prepackaged foodstuffs.
After recent changes, the proposal now calls for determining first whether the containers can be recycled. That's an idea the ban's critics like; its supporters question how economically and environmentally practical it will be to recycle the foam here.
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