NEW YORK, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- New York City decided Thursday to ban all restaurants from using plastic foam containers as well as the loose packing material known as "peanuts."
The measure, first started by former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, is an effort to cut down on the 28,000 tons of plastic foam waste accumulated in the 2014 fiscal year in New York.
The city is the latest to enact the ban after Portland, Seattle and several cities in California.
"We have better options, better alternatives, and if more cities across the country follow our lead and institute similar bans, those alternatives will soon become more plentiful and will cost less," said Mayor Bill de Blasio in a statement.
Environmentalists say the plastic foam breaks easily but degrades slowly, clogging up waterways and damaging marine life.
"This is an important and encouraging step," said Eric Goldstein, New York City environment director for the Natural Resources Defense Council. "There's a growing recognition that they cause disproportionate environmental and pollution problems and there are readily available substitutes. And so why not make the change?"
The ban does not cover all polystyrene products, which is why critics of the ban say it is nearly pointless.
"I'm baffled and disappointed," said Michael Westerfield, corporate director of recycling at Dart, the largest paper foam cup maker in the world. "They're spinning like it's a win. Well, it's not."
