Westchester Bans Most Styrofoam Containers

WHITE PLAINS, NY — Westchester County will be joining other counties around the state in eliminating the sale or use of Styrofoam containers for takeout, prepared foods and restaurant leftovers. The county Board of Legislators unanimously passed the measure June 3 and County Executive George Latimer signed it into law Thursday.

The law, which aims to reduce the amount of expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam that ends up in landfills and around communities, goes into effect in six months, the Journal News said.

The county joins Nassau and Suffolk counties which already passed legislation, as well as New York City and Albany County.

Food containers made from Styrofoam used by vendors and restaurants will be prohibited, along with the sale of loose-fill EPS packing foam in Westchester.

Prepackaged food that comes sealed in EPS packaging, as well as foam cartons for raw eggs and butcher case packaging are exempted.

The Legislature's Majority Leader Catherine Parker, a Democrat from Rye, said in a statement that the material being banned doesn't decompose.

"When you throw away that EPS coffee cup, it remains a part of our environments for generations, littering our streets, clogging our storm drains, backing up our landfills and eventually winding up in broken pieces in our waterways," she said. "This legislation not only will have an impact on our environment today, but it will have an impact on our environment for many decades."

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