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NYC Council Considers Banning Single-Use Plasticware
By
Claire Lampen
Published Feb 14, 2019
Modified Feb 14, 2019
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Michael Wels/Shutterstock
By
Claire Lampen
Published Feb 14, 2019
Modified Feb 14, 2019
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The city may expand the scope of its Plastic Battles, potentially catching in its crosshairs disposable plastic forks, knives, and spoons—all single-use plasticware, really, could be targeted for banishment.
On Wednesday, Councilmember Rafael Espinal introduced a bill that would obligate the Departments of Consumer Affairs, Sanitation, and Environmental Protection to annually evaluate these plastic products, and "ban those items for which reasonable alternatives are available."
According to Eater, plastic cutlery would likely be among the first products on the chopping block, but the language could reasonably extend to takeout containers (which some of us repurpose as potentially carcinogenic tupperware, what of it), plastic bags, anything for which a recyclable or reusable replacement exists.
In May, Espinal also proposed a plastic straw ban for bars and restaurants citywide. In an op-ed for USA Today, he highlighted the staggering volume of plastic trash clogging up our oceans—currently, 5 trillion pieces; by 2050, quite possibly more plastics than fish—writing that "the scale of this crisis requires government action." A number of NYC establishments, including Eataly and the Barclays Center, have slashed their straw use, although the bill itself remains laid over in committee.
This year, the city's single-used polystyrene moratorium went into effect, and as part of his 2019 budget, Governor Cuomo also proposed banning single-use plastic bags statewide. Critics contend that the policy would simply cause consumers to lean more heavily on paper and thicker plastic bags, but in any case, a number of U.S. cities have taken plastic bags out of circulation or imposed a surcharge on all single-use carryalls. The European Union, meanwhile, has banned all single-use plastics, whether in the form of cutlery or plates or the little sticks in cotton swabs.
The bill's potential passage does not mean your preferred fast-casual lunch spot will transform overnight into a utensil desert, obligating you to eat your Just Salad Rat Bowl with your hands, or drink your soup straight from the carton because someone in your office keeps stealing the spoons you bring from home. It could take years to ban single-use plastics, during which time the city would need to evaluate both the consumer and economic cost of alternatives, as well as the city's recycling capacity.
Still, New York Harbor is (or, in 2016, was) really just a garbage bay, a natural extension of its being connected to the world's trash oceans I suppose. Seeking out plastic alternatives seems like a good and reasonable place to start, and while we're at it, why not make all disposable cutlery compostable sporks? If you design them correctly, you can kill all three silverware needs with one handy instrument. Just something to think about.
Tagged
City Council
plastic ban
plastic cutlery ban
plastics
rafael espinal
single-use plastic
Claire Lampen
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