SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — After a year where we all relied on takeout, how you get your food is going to look a little different.
Starting in January, you won’t be eating any more food out of styrofoam. A New York state ban blocks the use of styrofoam packages for food and drinks. This change will affect restaurants, grocery stores, coffee shops, hospitals, schools and more. Although this will require a lot of change, restaurants can see why the state is doing this.
“Anything that helps the environment is a good idea,” Steven Papazides, manager of Acropolis Pizza House, said.
Papazides said Acropolis only uses styrofoam containers for to-go orders. He said they use the containers not for their own good, but for the benefit of the customers.
“That’s basically the only reason, we want their food to be hot when they get home,” Papazides said.
But Papazides said people also abuse the use of the styrofoam containers.
“When people order to go they shouldn’t eat here and just throw it away, if they don’t need to use it don’t use it,” Papazides said.
Styrofoam doesn’t break down in the environment. This leads to it being a major cause of litter. Syracuse Professor Tripti Bhattacharya said that styrofoam is dangerous.
“There’s a limit on how fast it degrades in the environment, so it’s this persistent pollutant,” Bhattacharya said.
Bhattacharya isn’t sure how many people will follow the ban. She hopes that it will not be like the plastic bag ban, where many companies still used the bags despite the ban.
“It’ll be interesting to see how long it takes this type of legislation to actually have an affect,” Bhattacharya said.
But she believes that everyone should be able to make the adjustment.
“There are lots of alternatives, the styrofoam doesn’t seem like an essential thing to be using anymore,” Bhattacharya said.
Bhattacharya said that hopefully the ban will reduce the amount of styrofoam that get’s into the environment.
Food and drink styrofoam containers aren’t the only things included in the ban, packing peanuts will also not be allowed.
The ban was a part of a budget passed in 2020 by the New York state Legislature.
There are also a few exemptions to the ban. For more information visit: https://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/120762.html
