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Industry Groups Sue To Stop NYC's Plastic Foam Container Ban

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Restaurant, manufacturing and recycling groups have sued to stop New York City's planned ban on plastic foam containers.

Coalition members from The Restaurant Action Alliance NYC said Thursday their lawsuit filed in Manhattan state supreme court seeks to block the ban that's set to go into effect July 1, although there will be a grace period, without fines, until January.

Court papers filed by attorney Randy Mastro say Mayor Bill de Blasio was predisposed by politics to stop the sale of plastic cups, food containers, plates and other items.

Mastro served as a deputy mayor under Rudy Giuliani.

The ban is set to take effect unless a yearlong inquiry found it could be recycled effectively. The Restaurant Action Alliance NYC says in court papers plastic foam recycling technology exists.

City officials say polystyrene foam causes real environmental harm.

The ban applies to single-use foam items such as cups, plates, trays or clamshell containers, as well as the sale of polystyrene loose fill packaging, such as packing peanuts, being packaged in the city.

"These products cause real environmental harm and have no place in New York City," de Blasio said in January. "We have better options, better alternatives and if more cities across the country follow our lead and institute similar bans, those alternatives will soon become more plentiful and will cost less."

"While much of the waste we produce can be recycled or reused, polystyrene foam is not one of those materials," Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia said in a statement in January. "Removing polystyrene from our waste stream is not only good for a greener, more sustainable New York, but also for the communities who are home to landfills receiving the city's trash."

(TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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