Bloomberg to ban something yet again.

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And how does that differ from what I proposed? A tax on styrofoam containers is a collection of money, and that money is used to collect solid waste and store it in landfills--both public functions. No one is being punished, the consumer is simply being charged a levy that reflects the additional cost that the consumer is imposing upon the public.

There is nothing in tax law or policy that says that taxes must be uniform. They must be fairly applied, but that fairness can involve differential application.

There is no punishment here, merely the imposition of a cost that the consumer is free to accept or avoid, as part of the consumer's decision making.

This is correct. A use tax prevents the public domain or tend to prevent the public domain from being used as a waste basket. If users recycle their styrofoam they can receive a rebate on the tax they paid to use the styrofoam.

ruveyn

Putting them into landfills isn't enough. Styrofoam doesn't break down. Over time, they and other polystyrene products take up significant volume of space at landfills (which they already do) and we would have to create more landfills, which is a problem because we only have so much space and so many areas where we wouldn't contaminate the local ecosystem and water supply (there's massive amounts of water underground). Due the air content, it has a low density and it also flakes easily, making it easily airborne. A lot of the styrofoam ends escaping garbage bins and landfills. Often enough it's consumed by local wildlife.

Recycling polystyrene is very difficult and expensive process. That's why many recycling plants don't recycle polystyrene products. It's not economical. It's a "use once" product.

Folks down here in Alabama always questions the actions from New York City calling it a "nanny state." There are better materials that can be used in packaging other than Styrofoam. But the costs will be passed on to the consumers. So it boils down to protecting the environment or paying more money.