RUSH: You know, in Staten Island, New York, there are still citizens of New York City living in tents, part of the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. In light of this, the mayor of New York City, Mayor Doomberg in Brooklyn just this afternoon at the Barclays Center delivered his final State of the City address. And as part of his final, and I say supposedly his final, State of the City address, he made this suggestion.
BLOOMBERG: One product that is virtually impossible to recycle and never biodegrades is something Marty [Markowitz] made fun about, but it’s not just terrible for the environment, it’s another thing that’s terrible for the taxpayers. Styrofoam increases the cost of recycling by as much as $20 per ton because it has to be removed. Something we know is environmentally destructive that is costing taxpayers money, and that is easily replaceable, I think is something we can do without.
AUDIENCE: (applause)
RUSH: That was applauded? Styrofoam? So let’s think how many ways that you could get how many years in jail in New York City or how much money you could be fined. You get caught with a Big Gulp full of sugar, soft drink. That’s a fine. If you are caught eating salt and trans fats in your food, a problem. If you sell food with too much salt and trans fats, the Board of Health can come in and shut you down. And if you put your sugary soft drink larger than 16 ounces and whatever food item with salt and trans fats in a Styrofoam container, you might go to jail in New York City.
Now, Reuters has the print version of the story, and they say at the bottom of their article, they mention in passing, “The plan is likely to meet opposition from small businesses, since alternatives to Styrofoam tend to cost between two and five times as much.” So? Isn’t big business and small business getting away with murder already? It ought to cost ’em two to five times as much. Styrofoam is a problem in New York City!
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