Starting on Janaury 1, 2022, some foam products will be a thing of the past especially in New York state because of the material they are made of, styrofoam.
According to the Department Of Environmental Conservation, Under the Expanded Polystyrene Foam Container and Polystyrene Loose Fill Packaging Ban, effective January 1, 2022, no covered food service provider or store (retail or wholesale) will be allowed to sell, offer for sale, or distribute disposable food service containers that contain expanded polystyrene foam in New York. In addition, no manufacturer or store will be allowed to sell, offer for sale, or distribute polystyrene loose fill packaging (commonly referred to as packing peanuts) in the state.
Going green costs $$$ in NYS: "That's a typical Styrofoam [takeout] container. That's about 16 cents. This [one] is compostable and it's made from sugar cane & bamboo: 53 cents. So just about triple [cost], times 500 per week, a couple thousand per month." https://t.co/mps33F7aLN
— Tom Vierhile (@TomVierhile) October 24, 2021
The ban is aimed at helping the environment, but it’s going to cost businesses more money as they find alternative ways to package their food. Some critics sugget it may cost as much as three times the cost to switch from styrofaom to a more compositable material such as sugar cane and bamboo.
The coronavirus pandemic has already taken its financial toll on restuarants across the nation, and there’s not much more they can take. Even a slight bump up in cost could be the nail in the coffin for many of them.
Hill & Makes Inc. put together a webinar class on September 29th to educate restuarante owners, managers, and employees on how to navigate the transition from styrofoam to other clean proeucts.
