Glen Cove's Plastic Foam Ban Addresses Outdated Problem

After Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed a citywide ban on plastic foam food containers in his State of the City address, Patch asked how you would feel about such a measure in Glen Cove.

Readers expressed support for the idea. A few pointed out that Glen Cove already has a ban in place, with questionable enforcement.

That's a fact, according to the City.

The ban was implemented in 1988 under Mayor Donald DeRiggi when the city's incinerator was still used to burn garbage as an energy source.

The intent was to eliminate the material from the waste stream and prevent it from polluting the air, according to Mayor Ralph Suozzi. The incinerator was used until 1992, he said.

"Once we stopped burning our garbage, it became a moot point," he said of the ban, which remains on the books. 

Suozzi said that if concerns for the environment and health are deemed serious enough, the use of the containers should be addressed at the state or federal level rather than town by town.

Suozzi said the City's current recycling program accepts Styrofoam, as it does any other materials bearing the 1-7 recycling code numbers (Styrofoam is a brand trademark of Dow Chemical Co. and does not represent all polystyrene food containers).

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