Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York believes his ban on plastic foam containers will offer a model for the nation's municipalities to clean up harmful environmental practices and materials.

The Huffingtonpost.com reports New York City will become the largest city in the country to ban restaurants from using plastic foam containers, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Thursday.

The mayor says that better options exist for storing leftovers but the restaurant industry disagrees.The Restaurant Action Alliance has condemned the ban, saying that it places an unfair economic burden on small businesses.The group says foam food service products comprise only 10 percent of polystyrene foam material.

Mayor de Blasio adds the ban will remove nearly 30,000 tons of expanded polystyrene waste from New York's  landfills and streets and will also improve the city's rivers and waterfront, and, ultimately, conditions for marine life in the Atlantic Ocean.

Read more about this major environmental initiative and its impact on restaurants here.