Should Vancouver ban single-use Styrofoam containers?

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VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – In a couple of months the city of New York will ban all single-use Styrofoam containers and it turns out it’s an idea that’s been floating around City Hall in Vancouver for the past few years.

However, there are some complications to make that happen in BC. And that’s because Vancouver, unlike New York, is not under municipal jurisdiction — which means the provincial government would have to approve it.

Councillor Andrea Reimer says since 2009, the city has looked at ways of banning or at least limiting the use of plastic bags, water bottles and Styrofoam.

“By far, the single largest issue in our waste stream is food scraps and organics and that’s really where we put our energy. Our recycling rate is four times that of New York right now and a large part of that is because we have organic diversion and recycling and they do not, so, kudos to them for banning Styrofoam. I know they’re starting to bring in organics but I think you’ll see increasingly that all cities will have all of these things as time moves on.”

Reimer adds they also have to consider businesses within the city’s growing food truck industry — that uses those types of take-out containers.

“I think what you see if you create recycling programs for one-time use products — businesses start going, ‘wait a minute, this doesn’t make any sense. We’re collecting all this stuff, you see how much volume there is.’ And then maybe you start to think, ‘well maybe there’s a better way to do this.’

She explains banning Styrofoam is a priority for the city, but wants you to understand — this won’t happen overnight.

On July 1st, the City of New York will implement a ban on all single-use Styrofoam containers. “These products cause real environmental harm and have no place in New York City. We have better options, better alternatives, and if more cities across the country follow our lead and institute similar bans, those alternatives will soon become more plentiful and will cost less,” says NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio.

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