When it comes to combating climate change, we’ve been taught to prioritize the three R’s: reduce, reuse, and recycle. But figuring out the best way to do this can be confusing and difficult to navigate when the burden is placed on individuals. Extended producer responsibility (EPR), most recently proposed in Governor Hochul’s upcoming budget, seeks to take that pressure off of individuals and put it back on the producers of the goods we consume. 

New York City residents produce nearly 13,000 tons of waste every single day. 81% of this waste ends up in landfills and incinerators throughout the Northeast region. As the garbage decomposes, it releases methane, a greenhouse gas 30 times more potent than carbon dioxide. The diesel trucks that transport this waste carry it a distance equivalent to driving more than 312 times around the Earth. To combat these impacts, New York City has been working toward achieving their Zero Waste goal of eliminating all waste sent to landfills by 2030. This goal requires the reduction in volume of disposed goods, as well as the recovery and reuse of their materials.

Late last week City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams announced her appointees for committee chairs. The most important chairs to keep an eye on for sustainability, and building a greener city, are those for environmental protection, transportation, parks, sanitation, and resiliency. Housing, health, and finance are also important chairs that can help facilitate environmental legislation. 

As New York City begins strategizing for the new year, our new administration and Council Members have the opportunity to start making transformative investments in our environmental infrastructure and resiliency. NYLCV’s newest Policy Agenda lists what issues should be made top priority in the transportation, energy, public health, conservation, and environmental justice sectors, and highlights the legislative opportunities that will get us there. We hope to build upon our progress made last year and continue making bold policy decisions for the good of our community. Below are some of the main points made in this year’s Policy Agenda.

Read more about The New York League of Conservation Voters (NYLCV) and NYLCV Education Fund (NYLCVEF) 2022 State Policy Agenda.

Every day, almost 100 million plastic utensils are discarded across the United States. The cost to dispose of single-use food ware in a single year is estimated at about 1 billion dollars. Despite these shocking numbers, many restaurants still give out disposable cutlery with every take-out and delivery order. Intro 1775-B is a bill that would require food establishments to only provide non-reusable utensils, condiments, and napkins upon request. While similar bills have been successfully passed in major cities such as Los Angeles, the New York City Council has yet to even have a council hearing concerning this bill. The New York League of Conservation Voters supports the passage of Intro 1775-B to reduce the city’s residential waste.

For environmentalists, this session brought some major wins, but unfortunately, the session ended with a lot still to do to fight climate change.