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NYC bids farewell to foam containers – Metro US

NYC bids farewell to foam containers

Aluminum container
Megan Fu

Wave goodbye to your halal meat and white rice filled plastic foam containers. After today, single-use foam products will be banned — including food and drink containers and packing peanuts.

Mayor de Blasio made this announcement in early January in an attempt to help save the environment from the essentially non-recyclable objects that fill NYC garbage cans.

Although, with a six-month grace period before city agencies enforce the law, both food vendors and consumers will have more time to say a heartfelt goodbye. In the meantime, vendors need to think of a backup plan: Many food carts and restaurants (Halal Guys, Chipotle, etc.) use the aluminum base containers with the plastic or paper top.

One street vendor near Maiden Lane noted that the food typically keeps better for longer in an aluminum container versus the plastic foam container, in which it is better to eat right away.

Multiple vendors seemed unphased by the ban and responded with nothing more than a shrug of the shoulders or shake of the head. A couple were unaware the ban was even in effect.

Regardless, take these next few months to engrave your name into a couple more containers and prepare for the aluminum container takeover that may be upon us.

Restaraunts, food carts and eateries aren’t the only places that plastic foam containers pop up, they make their way into our homes, too. Whether it is disposable dishware, egg crates, packing peanuts or insulation, there are alternatives out there to the polystyrene foam.

Foam objects Replacement objects

Foam plates Paper plates

Foam egg crate Cardboard egg crate

Foam cups Plastic cups

Packing peanuts Newspaper or bubble wrap

Insulation Greensulate, Aerogel, denim andmore