New York City Assemblyman Brian Kavanagh [1], along with state Sens. Liz Krueger [2] and Eric Schneiderman [3], are demanding that McDonald's discontinue its use of Styrofoam. The fast food chain recently reintroduced Styrofoam cups in order to keep its new sweet tea cold. It had been nearly two decades since McDonald's [4] capitulated to public demand that it become more environmentally conscious and discontinued the material.

Styrofoam tea cups? Environmental groups including NYLCV are not loving it.Styrene is lightweight and an excellent insulator, but it lingers in landfills and waterways for centuries without biodegrading. Furthermore, the Environmental Protection Agency [5] classifies the material as a suspected human carcinogen and neurotoxin.

It is for these reasons that San Francisco, Oakland and Santa Monica have banned all Styrofoam products, but the material is still used in schools, in restaurants, and by many industries. According to Empire State News [6], Americans throw out 1,369 tons of Styrofoam every day.