Page 44 - Plastics News June 2017

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

NYC facing pushback in its attempt to ban food service EPS

ew York City is finding itself in a civil war over expanded foam containers that constitute a first-class environmental
Npolystyrene food service packaging.A proposed law to nuisance throughout our city," he said.
recognize EPS as recyclable has been introduced before City But Westerfield, during the same committee meeting, said
Council just as Mayor Bill de Blasio again moves against the the recycling proposal will save the city money by reducing
plastic packaging. landfill costs and generating revenue from the material.
The mayor and city Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia "Our plan is forward thinking and an excellent example of
have been on what is now a years-long push to outlaw EPS how private and public sectors can partner together for
from food service use in the city. Simply put, attempting the greater good. Isn't that what everybody really wants?
to recycle foodservice EPS is folly, To oppose this bill simply because a business proposed it is
they believe.The bill, called Intro bad policy," Westerfield said.
1480-2017, is pushing back against
that view, and 22 of the city's 51 SOCAR plans to invest in second
City Council members have signed
on as sponsors. The primary sponsor petrochemical plant in Turkey
is Fernando Cabrera, a pastor who he State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) is
represents a district in the Bronx. Tplanning to increase its investments in Turkey, and
The bill flies in the face of a recent has announced plans to set up a second Petkim plant,
report by the Department of Sanitation. "For 30 years, as per www.dailysabah.com. The Azeri energy giant
attempts to recycle food-service foam — both subsidized
and non-subsidized attempts — have failed at each step is planning to invest $18 billion in Turkey by 2020.
of the recycling process. The municipalities and programs SOCAR Turkey Chairman Vagif Aliyev said that they will
that DSNY researched tell a very clear story: food-service produce solutions to imports with their "chemical park"
foam is not capable of being recycled in an environmentally investment. According to Hürriyet daily's report, SOCAR
effective or an economically feasible manner," the report Turkey Chairman Aliyev said that they are working on a
states. new investment for petrochemical products on Petkim
But Michael Westerfield, corporate director of recycling Peninsula, as well as holding talks with the government
programs at Dart Container Corp., recently said the report's
view that food service EPS is unrecyclable is "a baffling
declaration." Dart is a major maker of EPS products, and
has offered to help the city establish a recycling program,
collecting the material and shipping it off to Indiana for
processing at Plastic Recycling Inc. But that has been
rejected by the administration.
Westerfield called the latest anti-EPS move by the
administration "in direct conflict with both fact and a 2015
NY Supreme Court ruling striking down" a previous city ban
on food service EPS. Eric Goldstein of the Natural Resources
Defense Council recently testified before the council's that lean towards the issue, adding that the new plant
Committee on Sanitation and Solid Waste Management could be a second Petkim.
and called efforts to push for EPS recycling "an attempted Noting that the amount of investment is not clear but
hijacking of public policy." will be around US$3 bln, Aliyev stated that there is no
"Intro 1480 is an industry-backed proposal that's a wolf in room for a new capacity increase at Petkim. "The new
sheep's clothing," he said. investment should be near Petkim. We are currently
Instead, he said, NRDC supports "legislation that would ban engaging in talks with the government to evaluate this
polystyrene, including food and beverage containers. That's within the scope of strategic investment. This will give
the only sensible and proven way to get rid of the billions of us a great advantage," he added.

Plastics News | June 2017 44