Nassau County Legislature votes to ban Styrofoam packaging for takeout foods

Nassau merchants no longer will be able to use polystyrene, commonly known as Styrofoam, a staple for restaurant takeout, steaming cups of coffee and packaging material, under a bill passed Monday by the Nassau County Legislature.

Nassau's ban on selling or distributing polystyrene products will take effect Jan. 1. Suffolk County passed a similar bill last month, and a New York City ban took effect at the start of this year.

Under Nassau's law, fines would range from $500 to $2,500. The legislature passed the bill in a 19-0 vote, and Nassau County Executive Laura Curran said she would sign it. 

Fines collected by the county will go to a special revenue fund dedicated to environmental investigations and cleanup of county properties. The money will be earmarked to cover the cost of county contracts for the remediation, according to the legislation.

The legislation contains some exemptions.

Stores would not be fined if a product's packaging had loose polystyrene fill inside before it was sent to the store. Also, containers with fresh produce, uncooked eggs, raw meat, fish, seafood, and pork or poultry sold from a butcher case can have polystyrene foam.

"There’s nothing good about it other than it was holding your cup of coffee and maybe some of your takeout food. But there are other substitutes that are already being used out there," said Legis. Laura Schaefer (R-Westbury). “This is a wonderful thing to do for our environment."

Already, McDonald's has phased out polystyrene sandwich boxes. Dunkin' Donuts has pledged to eliminate polystyrene cups by 2020, replacing them with double-walled paper cups.

Legis. Debra Mulé (D-Freeport) said of polystyrene, "We know it doesn’t degrade, it’s something that we need to get rid of. There are alternatives."

Legis. Denise Ford, a Long Beach Democrat who caucuses with Republicans, said when she had people over for a party during the Christmas season Styrofoam packing for gifts turned into "little Styrofoam beads all over my living room floor." 

"I realized when I looked at this that, this stuff doesn't go anywhere, you can't even crush it," she said. "So, when you think that it can break down, and it can be ingested by fish, by birds, by wildlife … [I] realized that we need to get this out of our landfills."

Curran said in a statement, “My administration is fully committed to preserving Long Island’s oceans, parks, and marine life. I look forward to signing this legislation and continuing work with local, state, and federal partners to protect our environment.”

But Darren Suarez, senior director of government affairs for the Business Council of New York State in Albany, said "ultimately, we're worried about what it [a ban] means for the individual businesses."

"The product basically is very economical, it's very inexpensive … it allows for food to stay warm and cold," Suarez said.

"We've seen bans in other counties and it does increase the cost for smaller businesses that do work on the margin," Suarez said.

Adrienne Esposito, executive director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment, a Farmingdale nonprofit, said concerns about increased costs, "might have been true five years ago, but it's no longer true today" because 100 municipalities across the U.S. have banned Styrofoam. Compostable materials are cheaper now because they more often are manufactured in bulk, Esposito said.

A report from the county's office of legislative budget review also suggested, "the consequences of not prohibiting its usage and the associated hidden costs from remediating toxic chemicals that are released into landfills and waterways from non-biodegradable materials," also should be considered.

Also Monday, the Nassau Legislature approved the hiring of Farrah Mozawalla as executive director of the new Office of Asian American Affairs. Dozens of supporters applauded her nomination, and some held signs reading, "Farrah We've Got Your Back!"

Mozawalla said, "Our unity is our power, and I’m hoping this office can provide a platform for us and for our need, because we really needed this.”

Dr. Isma Chaudhry, chairwoman of the board of trustees of the Islamic Center of Long Island in Westbury, said while boards and councils devoted to Asian American constituents' needs had met informally, a formal office was "long overdue."

Chaudhry said the county initiative, “recognizes the Asian-American communities with respect and relevance.”

Mozawalla had served as acting executive director of the county's Office of Minority Affairs, but was never confirmed by the legislature for the permanent post.

By Scott Eidler

scott.eidler@newsday.com@ScottEidler

Scott Eidler is a deputy editor for the towns department at Newsday. Scott has worked at Newsday since 2012 and previously covered municipal government and education.