Last week, the New York State Senate passed the Packing Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act (S.1464/A.1749), a top priority for the League. The bill is currently in the Assembly Ways and Means Committee.
With the average New Yorker producing an astonishing five pounds of trash per day, accumulating to a total of 15 million tons of waste statewide per year, Sen. Harckham’s bill would shift the burden and responsibility for reducing packaging waste to the producing companies.
Specifically, the bill, if it becomes law, would require companies with net income of more than $1 million who sell or distribute certain materials and products to reduce packaging and toxins in the packaging and improve and help pay for municipal recycling.
Waste is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for 12% of the state’s total output. Packaging and paper waste in particular has grown dramatically with the rise of the delivery economy, with no signs of letting up. By requiring producers to internalize the cost of the waste their products create, they are financially incentivized to reduce the amount of waste they produce in the first place.
New Yorkers only recycle about 17% of their waste, with far too much of our packaging waste ending up in landfills.
This proposal would help New York create a circular economy that will prioritize recycled and recyclable materials. We can do this by creating incentives for producers to use less packaging in the first place. This would shift the financial burden of recycling away from taxpayers and municipal governments and instead back to the producer, to compel these companies to use materials that are easier to recycle and generate less waste overall.
This approach is already in use in New York for multiple products, including e-waste, paint, carpets, and pharmaceuticals.
The Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act would be the next step on our path to zero waste.
We applaud Senator Harckham for leading the charge and the Senate for passing this bill.
Now join us in urging the State Assembly to pass this bill and send it to Governor Hochul for her signature.