There was some big news out of New York City this past January. Current mayor of the city, Bill De Blasio, announced that his administration was banning the use of Expanded Polystyrene. What’s that, you ask? Expanded Polystyrene is another word for Styrofoam. What does this mean, exactly? Basically it means that food service institutions, retails stores, and manufacturers are not allowed to possess, sell, or use of anything made of Styrofoam. This includes any cups, plates, trays, clam-shell containers or packing materials made of Styrofoam. This ban will begin on July 1^stof this year

Why Ban Styrofoam?

The mayor and his administration determined that Styrofoam is simply not recyclable. Therefore, it is a hazard to the environment. To determine this, the mayor’s office consulted with various corporations. Among these was Dart Container Corporation, a PJP vendor, along with other stake holders and non-profits. Together they found that not only is Styrofoam not recyclable, there is no post-consumer market for it. It just can’t be reused.

In a statement the Mayor said, “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. By removing nearly 30,000 tons of expanded polystyrene waste from our landfills, streets and waterways, today’s announcement is a major step towards our goal of a greener, greater New York City.”

Even though PJP is based in Philadelphia, we are fortunate to have a lot of customers in NYC. Moreover, we have always had a strong commitment to protecting the environment. Because of this commitment, we have a wide array of environmentally friendly solutions available for our customers. Whether your in New York or just wish to remove Polystyrene from your business, PJP has you covered. We have a number of incredible vendors who make amazing Eco-friendly products.

Vegware

Vegware is a company based out of the United Kingdom. They are pioneering the development and manufacturing of eco-friendly catering disposables. They strive to make products that are stylish, functional, economic, and, most importantly, sustainable. By making products that are 100% compostable, Vegware has shown a nearly unrivaled commitment to the environment. You can, of course, get Vegware products for all of your business needs through PJP.

World Centric

World Centric was founded in 2004 to raise awareness of large scale humanitarian and environmental issues. They started out by hosting award winning documentaries and speakers on environmental, social, human rights and peace issues. In the beginning, World Centric’s primary goal was awareness. But starting in 2005 they began to sell fair trade compostable products to become a self-sustaining organization. Now, the sale of compostable products has become World Centric’s main trade. This is primarily due to the rapidly growing market for such products. Since 2009 World Centric has offset all of its carbon emissions and given at least 25% of its profits to grassroots social and environmental organizations. If you want to purchase the high quality World Centric product line and support a company whose goal is to make the planet better for everyone, PJP is here to help.

Eco Products

Starting in a garage in 1990, Eco Products started with the goal of selling products made of recycled materials to businesses in Colorado. Since then the company has grown considerably and offers a wide array of products of their own development that offers customers quality, affordable, compostable products made from renewable resources, instead of foam or plastic.

As always, PJP is striving to makes the community we share, and the planet we live on a more sustainable one. In order to do so, we’ve partnered with companies like the ones listed above so that we can offer our customers environmentally friendly solutions. If you’re a business in New York City, or if you want to follow in New York’s footsteps, call your PJP Sales Rep and we can help you turn your business into a much greener establishment.

Got any questions about what steps you can take to make your business more environmentally friendly? PJP is here to help! We’ve been in the food service industry for 55 years. We want to lend you our expertise. Just fill out the form below with your question and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.