Supreme Court wonโt hear styrofoam case
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. โ In a victory for retailers, the Florida Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to take up an appeal in a battle about the city of Coral Gablesโ attempt to ban the use of Styrofoam food containers. The decision effectively let stand a ruling last year by the 3rd District Court of Appeal that upheld the constitutionality of state laws that blocked a 2016 Coral Gables ordinance on polystyrene, commonly known as Styrofoam. As is common, the Supreme Court did not explain its reasons for declining to hear the case, but the decision was unanimous. The Attorney Generalโs Office backed the retailers in the case, including filing a brief in November at the Supreme Court. The case focused heavily on a wide-ranging Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services bill that lawmakers passed in March 2016.
Florida's Styrofoam ban fight goes to Supreme Court
Shutterstock via CNNTALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Coral Gables has gone to the Florida Supreme Court in a legal battle about whether the city should be able to ban the use of Styrofoam food containers, according to documents posted Monday on the Supreme Court website. The 3rd District Court of Appeal in August overturned a ruling by a Miami-Dade County circuit judge who had found three state laws unconstitutional and determined Coral Gables was not prevented from enacting the Styrofoam ban. Coral Gables approved a Styrofoam-ban ordinance in February 2016, and the Florida Retail Federation and Super Progreso, Inc., later filed the lawsuit challenging its legality. The appeals court said the three state laws at issue in the case are unambiguous and "expressly preempt the city's polystyrene ordinance." As is common, the city's notice of taking the case to the Supreme Court does not detail arguments Coral Gables will make.
New York to start enforcing foam container ban
Getty Images(CNN) - New York City will begin officially enforcing its ban on Styrofoam beginning Monday. "New York City's ban on Styrofoam is long overdue, and New Yorkers are ready to start using recyclable alternatives," New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said last year when he announced the ban. The Styrofoam ban in New York makes it the largest US city to ban the material. Maine announced last month that it will ban foam food containers statewide beginning in 2021. So did McDonald's, which said it would use renewable or recyclable materials in all of its packaging by 2025.