Following the call by New York mayor Michael Bloomberg for a citywide polystyrene ban, a study – “Fiscal & economic impacts of a ban on plastic foam foodservice and drink containers in New York City” – has been published by government consultancy MB Public Affairs (Sacramento, California / USA; www.mbpublicaffairs.com) and funded by the American Chemistry Council (ACC, Washington DC / USA; www.americanchemistry.com). Bloomberg’s proposals met with a mixed reaction – see Plasteurope.com of 19.02.2013 – with delight from environmentalists but the suggestion from the ACC that problems would be better handled by developing recycling techniques.

The study aims to evaluate the potential direct impacts from the proposal to ban PS foam in foodservice applications in the city. Current annual sales of plastic foam foodservice and drink containers in New York City are estimated at USD 97.1m. The direct costs of the proposed ban come from replacing plastic foam foodservice and drink containers with other, generally more costly, alternatives such as other plastics, fibreboard and compostable items, the consultancy says.

The study claims that the cost of replacing plastic foam foodservice and drink containers and trays with the lowest-cost alternative is USD 91.3m, equating to an effective minimum average cost increase of 94%.The actual addition cost is likely to be higher as businesses may find it necessary to select higher-priced alternatives that provide performance equivalent to plastic foam, the study says.

e-Service:
“Fiscal & economic impacts of a ban on plastic foam foodservice and drink containers in New York City” as a PDF document