Dive Brief:

• New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio plans to enact a ban as of July 1 that will prohibit single-use polystyrene products such as cups and plates used in stores and restaurants. But two New York state senators want him to quit the plan, saying it will cost jobs in the polystyrene industry and not benefit taxpayers as much as their own plan to recycle foam products would.
• Senators John J. Bonacic and Betty Little say their plan to recycle foam products would save jobs and not cost government money. But New York City officials said the decision to enact the ban on polystyrene products came after studying the issue and concluding the material could not be recycled and there was no market for it.
• While stores will still be able to have such polystyrene items after July 1, the city will start to enforce the ban on Jan. 1, 2016.

Dive Insight:

As those dealing with electronic waste well know, recycling some items costs more than not recycling them. Though when a city as large as New York looks into recycling an item and finds there’s no market for recycling it, it seems any continuing argument for recycling that item could be railing against the wind. But this dispute does point to the need to hold manufacturers accountable for recycling the waste they create, as is being done with e-waste in some states.