Plastic Wrapping Banned in Suffolk 

Factory Packaging is Exempt 

Law Takes Effect in '89 

Philip S Gutis / Special to New York Times p.1 30apr88

HAUPPAUGE, L.I., April 29 - The Suffolk County Executive today signed legislation that will ban plastic grocery bags and many plastic food containers in the county beginning in July 1989.

The law will require fast-food restaurants to take hamburgers and other foods out of plastic foam packaging and serve them in paper materials, which are considered biodegradable.

The measure will not affect goods shipped into Suffolk County packaged in plastic containers or wrapped in plastic, such as medical supplies and packaged meats.

Bans Considered Elsewhere

The measure is believed by the plastics industry and officials here to be the first of its kind in' the nation. It was called "progressive milestone legislation" today by the County Executive, Patrick G. Halpin.

Environmental groups said they hoped the Suffolk law would give impetus to dozens of similar proposals being considered by other counties, cities and states.

But Roger Bernstein, a spokesman for the Society of the Plastic Industry, a trade association, said plastics producers believed their products were being singled out and treated as scapegoats by local governments desperate to solve a growing garbage crisis.

A court challenge to the law is being considered, Mr. Bernstein said.

The plastics banned in the measure are polystyrene, which is also known as plastic foam, and polyvinyl chloride, which is used for plastic wrappings and grocery bags.

Industry representatives say these two plastics make up less. than 1 percent of the nation's volume of garbage. Proponents of the law said the figure is much higher.

Those two plastics were identified, the measure's sponsors said, because their complex chemical structure makes them the most damaging to the environment.

The law prohibits the use of the two plastics in restaurants, bars, delis, roadside stands, grocery stores and other retail food establishments.

County Legislator Stephen C. Englebright, the chief sponsor of the law, said food products consumed soon after they are purchased will not be allowed to be packaged in plastic. It is this "point of purchase" packaging such as the foam "clamshells". widely used by the fast-food industry - that has raised concerns throughout the country,

'Send a Clear Message'

Mr. Halpin, surrounded at a news conference by many of the county legislators who sponsored the law, said the legislation should "send a clear

message to the plastics industry that the time is now to begin an aggressive and comprehensive recycling program."

He urged the plastics industry to work quickly toward developing plastics that are biodegradable or easily recyclable. He threatened further legislation limiting plastic use if manufacturers do not comply.

In, 1981, Suffolk became the first county in the state to approve legislation eliminating not-for-return soda bottles. That bill led to the statewide legislation requiring five-cent deposits on bottles approved in 1983.

"Just as we proved with the bottle bill," Mr. Halpin said, "we are determined to use creative and innovative means to accomplish a clear and measurable improvement in our environment."

The McDonald's Corporation, one of the largest users of polystyrene packaging, said it would not comment on the new law today. In the past, McDonald's officials have said they recognized the controversy about the packages and would continue to review their options.

Plastic foam has been restricted in Berkeley, Calif., which has banned the use of polystyrenes that contain chlorofluorocarbons, agents that are believe to deplete ozone. Berkeley is considering a more comprehensive ban on polystyrenes.

Businesses violating the Suffolk law, which is a scaled-down version of a bill proposed eight months ago, face a $500 fine.

The County Legislature approved the revised bill last month by a vote of 16 to 0, with two abstentions.

"This is a first step," Mr. Englebright said. "It is not meant to be a magic wand to solve all the problems that are created by the composition and chemistry of our mixed waste stream."

Both Mr. Halpin and Mr. Englebright said county residents could expect further action on the solid waste problem. The issue of what to do with growing mounds of garbage is of concern throughout the country, but in the Northeast it has reached a crisis stage.

On Long Island, for example, all landfills now in operation must be closed by 1990 because the state's Department of Environmental Conservation has determined that continued burial of garbage threatens the ground water.

Supporters of the legislation' have argued that it would significantly reduce the amount of nonbiodegradable material now overfilling the county's landfills. But Mr. Halpin, in his approval message to the Legislature, said he recognized that the law he signed today was "limited."

Time for Alternatives

"While I recognize that this legislation is limited and will have a small impact on reducing the amount of garbage in the solid waste stream," he wrote, "it is one more step toward our mutual objective of doing all we can as government officials to protect our environment."

Indeed, Mr. Halpin said he hoped that by delaying the law's effective date until July 1989, there would be time to present alternatives that "preclude the plastic industry from being negatively affected."

Mobil Chemical Company, a subsidiary of the Mobil Oil Corporation and a major producer of polystyrene foam and plastic bags, welcomed Mr. Halpin's measured words, according to Allen Gray, a spokesman. Mr. Gray, however, had nothing favorable to say about the new law.

"All this bill does is discriminate against plastic products," Mr. Gray said. "It doesn't offer any solutions to waste disposal. It doesn't provide for incinerators, does not provide for landfills, does not bring about a reduction in the matter of trash."