City gov’t has plastic (utensil) surgery

Stick a fork in plastic utensils — they’re done in New York.

Mayor de Blasio signed an executive order on Thursday banning the city from buying single-use plastics in an effort to reduce carbon emissions and waste.

The mayor directed city agencies to instead begin purchasing compostable or recyclable alternatives.

“The villain here is big oil,” de Blasio said at Sims Municipal Recycling in Brooklyn. “We have all been put in harms way because an industry wanted more and more profit.”

Six percent of the world’s oil market is used to create plastic products. Producing one ounce of the most common single-use plastic, polyethylene, emits one ounce of carbon dioxide — and those emissions are fueling climate change. Global warming is already causing rising sealevel and temperatures, as well as extreme weather.

“Today, we say no to plastic,” de Blasio said.

The city now spends about $1 million on at least 1.1 million pounds of single-use plastic utensils, straws, plates, bowls, cups and trays, according to the mayor’s office. Officials don’t know how much new foodware contracts will cost, though they anticipate at least a slight increase.

The order is expected to reduce agencies’ purchase of single-use plastics by 95% and cut the city’s carbon emissions by roughly 500 tons a year.

The order, which will be implemented before the end of the year, allows agencies to buy a limited supply of single-use plastic straws and other foodware for anyone who requests it. This is intended for New Yorkers with disabilities or medical conditions who can’t use alternatives.