Dive Brief:
- Dart Container, the largest manufacturer of foam products in the world, is trying to convince the New York City Council to deny a ban on polystyrene cups and trays.
- Mayor Bloomberg is set to approve a ban before he leaves office, but Dart is saying he has a proposal that is more environmentally-sound and is less costly than a ban: Dart will buy the foam and haul it to a recycling facility in Indiana.
- Dart says it would pay $160 per ton, and that the city would stand to make $4 million annually, if his plan was adopted.
Dive Insight:
Half of Dart Container's $3.5 billion in yearly sales are from polystyrene, prompting the company to oppose the ban. The company has made attempts to sway New York City government officials throughout the past nine months, with no major signs of changing the outcome in its favor. Restaurants have also been against the ban, pushing for recycling instead- due to increased costs associated with alternate materials.
Proponents of the bill question the success of recycling polystyrene; less than 1 percent of this material is currently recycled across the nation, and it is difficult to clean, hampering recycling to a greater extent.
