New Yorkers may soon have to wave goodbye to plastic foam coffee cups and take-out boxes. Last month, during his final State of the City address, Mayor Bloomberg announced that he wanted to ban the non-biodegradable plastic foam substance known as polystyrene, a move that would follow the likes of west coast cities like Seattle, San Francisco and Portland.

Environmental groups like the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) applaud the mayor’s effort, saying that banning these substances could have a real impact on everyday urban living.

“Bloomberg has a sensible proposal to keep our streets clean and dispose of our household waste as well as phasing out a petroleum based product that has a short, useful life but stays around for many decades,” said Eric Goldstein, the environment director for the NRDC.

But it’s not easy being green, especially for businesses in New York concerned that alternatives to polystyrene could be expensive and really cut into small business’ pockets, as well as cost jobs of polystyrene manufacturers.

Even big businesses like Dunkin Donuts could be hurt by the ban. The corporation released a statement of disapproval of the proposed ban: “A polystyrene ban will not eliminate waste or increase recycling, it will simply replace one type of trash with another.”

“This is yet another mandate that government is imposing on a business when they’re already struggling to survive,” said Mike Durant, the New York director of the National Federation of Independent Business. “This will threaten jobs like any other mandate you see that comes from government.”

In fact, a study released by the American Chemistry Council found that the proposed ban would actually cost the city $100 million annually. A Styrofoam cup, according to the New York Restaurant Association, costs seven cents, cardboard cups cost 15 cents, and a plastic cup could cost 45 cents per container. This may sound like only a matter of pennies, but according to the study, New York City restaurants could see a $57 million increase in costs. In addition, as many as 1,200 polystyrene manufacturing jobs could be lost with the enactment of a ban.

But despite the alleged costs, the ban is backed by multiple legislators like the Upper East Side’s Senator Liz Krueger, who wants the substance banned statewide.

“This would be a great step forward for our city, both for the environment and public health – but we shouldn’t just stop at the city limits,” said Krueger last month after the State of the City address.

So what is polystyrene? Usually called Styrofoam, polystyrene is a petroleum-based expanded foam plastic. The substance is often preferred by restaurants because it insulates hot beverages better than paper or cardboard. According to the American Chemsitry Council, most polystyrene nowadays is actually made from a combination of petroleum and natural gas.

Those on the side of small businesses say that New York City should implement a recycling program for polystyrene. But according to NYC.gov, polystyrene is not recyclable because it is “very difficult to keep clean and separate from other types of plastic.” Because it is difficult to clean and extremely lightweight, polystyrene would be costly to ship to a recycling plant, according to NYC.gov, and would cost the city money.

Alex Dmitriew, the commercial zero waste coordinator for San Francisco said that for similar reasons, the city of San Francisco also could not have a polystyrene recycling program, so the substance ended up as trash, and more often, litter.

“Typically polystyrene never really goes away. It breaks down but never deteriorates, it can end up in our sewer system and on our streets,” said Dmitriew.

San Francisco has had a polystyrene ban in place since 2007, and has been encouraging the usage of sugar cane and plant-based containers, known as PLA or bagasse products. According to the compostable container and utensil distributor worldcentric.org, these organic products biodegrade in 60 days. Whereas, according to the NRDC, most polystyrene and plastic products are non-biodegradable, and stick around in the environment for thousands of years.
An organic PLA hot beverage 8-ounce cup costs less than 10 cents on the worldcentric.org website, only three cents more than the American Chemistry Council’s listed cost of polystyrene containers.

But a 2006 study done by the Plastic Food Service Packaging Corporation found that despite being a petroleum-based substance, polystyrene actually uses less energy than organic substances, because the foam material is 90 percent air.

Eric Goldstein called foul on the results of this study.

“The restaurant industry knows that for environmental safety reasons the city is moving in this direction of phasing out their policy, so they string together some arguments and throw around some numbers,” said Goldstein.

San Francisco has actually found that the city is much cleaner since the implementation of the ban six years ago. According to Dmitriew, within two years of the ban, the city saw a 41 percent decrease in polystyrene litter.

“Polystyrene is far from a perfect substance but it doesn’t mean it wouldn’t seriously impact people who are having trouble making ends meet,” said Andrew Mozsel, a representative for the New York Restaurant Association. He mentions that smaller mom and pop restaurants as well as ethnic restaurants would most likely be affected.

Dmitriew said that San Francisco’s government was concerned about the impact on businesses, and admitted that polystyrene is the cheapest substance around. He said that the city issued an ordinance, saying that any restaurant can apply for a waiver if they feel that they will face economic hardship. In reality, he said, only two restaurants asked for a waiver, out of more than 4,500 food establishments citywide, and the city was more than happy to help the establishments out.

Most restaurants and diners on the Upper East Side that we spoke with, like Three Star Diner on East 76th and 1st Avenue, and Gracie’s Corner Diner on East 86th and 1st Avenue, said that they do not use polystyrene cups or plates, and so the ban would not affect them much.

“We haven’t used Styrofoam in over 15 years. It’s flimsy and doesn’t hold up well. Hot food starts to melt the Styrofoam. We like to use hard, clear plastic,” said Gus Klimis, the owner of East Side Eatery on 1st Avenue and 91st Street.

“Most of our prepared foods have to be heated up, so Styrofoam wouldn’t work. So we don’t use Styrofoam,” said Garman Calle, the manager of E.A.T. on 3rd Avenue and 81st Street.

Moreover, I am thankful to live in a city that indulges independent coffee shops in all their idiosyncrasies. So that I might find comfort in knowing I will start each day, subtly branded coffee cup in hand, feeling good about what I’m drinking, if slightly worse about myself. So that I might wonder if the gravity-defying beanies that ride so low on baristas’ heads are supported by bobby pins, if guys are now wearing bobby pins, and if with my single origin drip Guatemala Maya Ixil and coffee cardamom bundt cake, I am somehow encouraging this.

I sure hope so. And if anyone ever hands me a duffel bag full of cash to invest in a business venture all my own, I know what I’ll do.

How to open an independent coffee shop:

1. When it comes to designing your logo, less is more.
2. See if you can draw a coffee cup using only two lines. Are you opening in Brooklyn? Try it with one.
3. The logo should be clear and full of reflection, like glass. Seriously, sometimes simply a big, unmarked window will do. Just make sure passersby can see plenty of birch and steel inside.
4. Having a bike rack outside should be a no brainer. But make it a confusingly conceptual one. You should need an engineering degree to get your bike in there.
5. Require that all baristas exhibit two out of three for tattoos, facial hair, and/or beanies. Bonus points if it’s a tattoo of your logo. Extra bonus points if it’s a tattoo of the logo tattooed on a bearded, beanie-wearing barista.
6. Your baked goods should be baked fresh daily, but you should also try making them square. Cookies, bars, and muffins with a slightly squared edge scream PORTLAND. SEATTLE. DETROIT.
7. Speckle them with unexpected herbs and spices. Make sure to qualify all those “ordinary” exotic herbs like Spanish saffron and black cardamom.
8. There should be Pink Himalayan sea salt on everything.
9. If there isn’t Pink Himalayan sea salt on it, there should be bee pollen. Dust, don’t sprinkle.
10. Make your own “Middle America” desserts, but make them so no one in “Middle America” would ever touch them. A Tahitian vanilla Twinkie with rose-scented buttercream? How pretentiously unpretentious!
11. Since they’re organic and baked-to-order, you should charge $8 per Twinkie.
12. Offer a curated list of non-coffee beverages as well.
13. Include one – and only one – juice from a local orchard or farm. Bonus points if it’s something people don’t usually drink. Like cherry juice.
14. Include a brand of bottled water no one has ever heard of. It should be Italian. “Oh that sounds familiar?” But it’s not.
15. Alternatively, you may install a complementary tap, offering still, sparkling, or room-temperature water. This will make customers feel grateful and valued, even if you do charge extra per drink to finance it.
16. Your milk should come from an obscure farm upstate. Extra points if it’s in a glass bottle.
17. If you’re confident enough – or enjoy upsetting picky girls – offer only whole milk. And almond milk. You know, just to show you can.
18. You should only have two options for sugar: raw sugar or simple syrup. Ring the fire alarm if anyone so much as mentions Splenda.
19. Sell Mast Brothers chocolate.
20. Don’t try and get creative here. Like any expressionist painter must first master the classics, you must display Mast Brothers before you can proceed to other more unusual expressions, like “siphon” coffee, or a Japanese ice brew.
21. Use to-go lids so thin and compostable that they do, in fact, compost a little in your mouth with every sip.
22. Teach your staff to practice conditioning behavior. Reward customers who order properly and know their beans. Withhold smiles and friendly conversation from those who ask for flavored syrups. Slap them if they order anything “Skinny.”