PS ban a blast from the past

Check the clock, is it 2007 -- or 1989? The New York Times' City Room blog has an item today that has me confused: A Call to Ban Foam Trays in Schools and Restaurants.

New York City’s public school system goes through 850,000 Styrofoam cafeteria trays a day, 4 million in a week and more than 153 million in a school year. As this blog and an accompanying video reported in June, Parents Against Styrofoam in Schools, a grass-roots group arising out of Public School 154 in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, has called for limiting or ceasing the use of polystyrene, a petroleum-based material that can take centuries to decompose.

Now, Councilman Bill de Blasio, Democrat of Brooklyn, wants to go even further. He is introducing a bill in the City Council today to would prohibit the use of polystyrene by City agencies and food establishments. Mr. de Blasio, like the Brooklyn parents, want the school system to switch to either reusable plastic trays or trays that are biodegradable.

“It is mind-boggling that our city, which is becoming a leader on environmental issues, is still using Styrofoam when we know it is extremely harmful to our environment and creating massive amounts of waste,” Mr. de Blasio said.

The bill also would ban polystyrene containers used in restaurants and delis.

The Times blog has no comment from the Polystyrene Packaging Council or the National Polystyrene Recycling Co. -- wait, that's right, they're not around anymore. Anyone have a copy of those old business plans?