Suffolk County is cracking down on plastic straws, styrofoam and packing peanuts. Legislation passed this week sets new restrictions to tackle plastic pollutants.
The Suffolk County Legislature passed bills that would make plastic straws available by request only, ban restaurants from using styrofoam containers and outlaw packing peanuts starting in 2020.
Adrienne Esposito, executive director for Citizens Campaign for the Environment, said education will be key in making sure these laws are effective.
“The public is actually learning and adjusting their behavior with these pieces of legislation. We’re using 80 percent less plastic bags in Suffolk County, now we will use 80 percent less straws. And we will not be using styrofoam for our food or our morning coffee.”
A county plastic bag fee that went into effect last year has resulted in more than one billion fewer bags washing up on the shoreline.
The county legislature also passed a bill that bars the sale of cigarettes, e-cigarettes and vaping products in pharmacies. Exceptions were made for nicotine products that help people quit smoking.
County Legislator and physician William Spencer, who sponsored the measure, said the county also needs to target teen vaping, which has seen a dramatic increase in recent years.
“It looks like the state is actually taking action there, also to prevent vaping products by requiring licenses to try to keep them out of the hands of young people.”
Spencer has legislation in committee that would ban some vaping flavors that he says are aimed at young people.
