Lawmakers in Nassau are expected to vote this week on legislation sponsored by Legislator Denise Ford that would ban the use of Styrofoam containers countywide.
The bill would make it illegal to sell or distribute Styrofoam products beginning as soon as January. Fines for violating the policy would lead to fines between $500 and $2,500, which would be enforced by the county’s Department of Consumer Affairs.
Similar measures have already been passed in Suffolk County and Manhattan. A plastic bag ban has also been enacted in the Hudson Valley.
According to the EPA, polystyrene is the fifth-largest pollutant in the country, and often ends up in waterways, and takes many years to decompose. The World Health Organization has also called it a carcinogen.
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