Latest State Wides: State Wide

Governor Cuomo recently announced a proposal for stricter regulations on ozone standards. The proposed regulations include restrictions on emissions and increased controls on New York’s dirtiest power plants, called peaker power plants, which produce exceedingly harmful emissions during the ozone season.

The U.S. recycling industry is in crisis. Many material recovery facilities (MRFs) are limiting or discontinuing their recycling disposal contracts with counties and municipalities across New York and other states, giving them nowhere to put their recyclables. This situation is further exacerbated by improper recycling and limited producer responsibility for products that are the most difficult to deal with.

Last weekend, the New York State Legislature and Governor Andrew Cuomo finalized a progressive state budget for Fiscal Year 2020, establishing several important environmental policies including congestion pricing in Manhattan, a ban on carry-out plastic bags, and legislation to reduce food waste in New York.

Earlier this year, State Senator Todd Kaminsky and Assembly Member Englebright proposed legislation to expand the state's bottle deposit refund program to several types of bottles and cans that are not currently included in the program like wine, liquor, and hard cider bottles.

As Cuomo and the newly elected state legislature hash out the details of the proposal in the coming months, they can look to California to learn how a friendly competitor is meeting similarly ambitious goals.

In a rarely before seen act, the State Senate and State Assembly passed not one but two NYLCV priority bills in this the first week in February! One bill will prevent exploration and drilling for oil and natural gas in New York-owned coastal waters. The other bill will prohibit purse seine fishing for menhaden, a species of fish fundamental to the marine ecosystem.

Clean and Healthy New York, which NYLCV works closely with as part of the JustGreen Partnership, this month laid out a road map for identifying and eliminating toxins from everyday consumer products ranging from toothpaste to floor polish as part of a fundamental shift in the way we manufacture these products.