Bloomberg Has Chosen A New Thing to Ban
This time, it’s Styrofoam cups. Didn’t see that one coming, really, but I’m fine with it. Actually, elated. Sure, I agree with team Bloomberg that Styrofoam is a terrible, unsustainable, and totally un-recyclable material to be hurling into our environment on a daily basis. Mainly, though, it’s a squeaky, ear-destroying nightmare that gives me a needles-under-the-skin feeling even now, just thinking about it. This ban seems great.
It really is environmentally — not aesthetically — motivated, though, as part of Bloomberg’s goal of getting New York to recycle 30 percent of its daily trash (currently we average around 15 percent) by 2017. “We’re studying all the different things in our waste stream,” explained Bloomberg’s deputy commissioner for recycling at Sanitation. “We want to make sure that everything in our waste stream is recyclable.”
That quote has maybe two uses of the term “waste stream” too many for my taste, but sure, yes. Go ahead and do this, guys. I doubt there’s a powerful Styrofoam lobby waiting in the wings to object.
Follow Virginia K. Smith on Twitter @vksmith.
