San Francisco has passed one of the world’s most comprehensive laws banning the use of single-use plastic products. A sweeping ban on disposable polystyrene foam due to take effect on Jan. 1, 2017 will apply to packing peanuts, takeout containers, coffee cups, egg cartons and ice chests, as well as foam dock floatings, mooring buoys and pool toys. Foamed meat trays are to be banned half a year later, but insulation foam for medical packaging will continued to be allowed.

The move is in line with the city’s “zero waste by 2020” drive. San Francisco has a history of restricting plastics going back to 2007 when it banned the use of shopping bags not certified as biodegradable and recyclable, along with containers for taking away food from restaurants.

The American Chemistry Council, has urged the city to reconsider the legislation, saying that all packaging, even if degradable, leaves an environmental footprint.

A year ago, New York City was on its way to imposing a similar ban on expandable polystyrene products before the recycling industry – supported by restaurant owners – sued and won. The legislation was overturned by the state supreme court, as a judge ruled that EPS is recyclable. The city’s appeal was also rejected.

New York mayor Bill de Blasio and his predecessor Michael Bloomberg had argued that recycling EPS is neither feasible nor economical, and thus the estimated estimated at 30,000 t/y of waste a burden was on the city’s landfills.  Leading US recycler Dart Container, together with styrenics recycler Ded Inc (PRI), has pledged to recover 90% of the city’s foam waste y and pay the city a price of $160 per tonne. The recycling effort will not begin before New York rewrites its legislation, however.