This event has passed but you can watch the recording of the rally here (apologies for video quality, the internet was not strong).
It was a wonderful, inspiring day of advocacy packed with meetings with legislators. Check out some of our photos below and feel free to email any images you have to us at beyondplastics@bennington.edu (and please note who is in the photos, if possible.)
** UPDATE: The rally location has been moved to Westminster Presbyterian Church - 85 Chestnust Street, Albany!! Starting at 11:30 with live music, poetry by National Poetry Slam Champion Melissa Lozada-Oliva, and special guest Blythe Danner.**
RSVP to save the date to join Beyond Plastics, NYPIRG, League of Women Voters of NYS, Food & Water Watch, and dozens more at the New York State Capitol in Albany for a Rally and Advocacy Day to say "New York is Not Disposable." Together we can pass a strong Packaging Reduction and Recycling Act (PRRA) and the Bigger Better Bottle Bill (BBBB).
Across the board, plastic pollution drives climate change and inequality. It has become one of the greatest threats to environment and human health of our time - and the burden of pollution is shoved onto low-income and communities of color in the US and the global south.
Though plastic never biodegrades, nearly half of new plastic produced today becomes single-use packaging. When you buy products in a store or online, you have almost no control over the amount of packaging that comes with it - and companies have no responsibility for the cleanup.
We will meet at the Westminster Presbyterian Church between 10-10:30am at 85 Chestnut Street, Albany, 12210
11:00am: Move to the steps at the Capital Building for a rally at 11:30
12:30-5pm: Advocacy meetings with legislators where we will ask them to cosponsor and pass the PRRA and BBBB. To be added to meetings with your legislators, RSVP on Action Network at bit.ly/may-2-rally-nys
**NYC and New Paltz residents: There will be free buses leaving from 34th Street and Eighth Avenue, Manhattan, at 7:10am on May 2. Returning buses will leave Albany at 4:30pm, returning at 7:30pm to NYC. Pickup location is close to Penn Station. New Paltz residents can get on the bus at 8:35am from the Park & Ride off the NYS Thruway at the New Paltz exit (Park & Ride, I-87, New Paltz, NY 12561). Space is limited to first come, first served, so RSVP now!
What is the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Act (A5322/S4246)?
The bulk of packaging that cannot be reused or recycled is single-use plastic. The PRRA is an extended producer responsibility (EPR) program that would require companies to reduce their single-use packaging by 50% in 12 years. It also requires the remaining materials be refillable, reusable, or truly recyclable, and bans a dozen toxic chemicals from packaging.
The PRRA would make packaging producers legally and financially responsible for end-of-life management of their packaging, instead of relying on taxpayers (cities and towns) to foot the bill. Beverage container deposit laws, or bottle bills, are the earliest example of EPR, and have operated successfully in the U.S. for 50 years. The Bigger Better Bottle Bill would modernize New York's container deposit program by expanding the types of containers and upping the deposit to ten cents.
How does EPR for packaging work?
Individual producers pay fees based on the amount of packaging they sell in the state. The fees go into a fund that reimburses municipalities for collecting and processing packaging waste for recycling. The fund may also be used to make grants for projects that create or improve the reuse, refill, and recycling infrastructure.
The PRRA goes further than conventional EPR by putting into law requirements for reduction, recycling, and banning toxic chemicals. Simply making producers pay to manage their packaging waste won't result in material redesign - the legislature should use it's authority to mandate waste reduction.
Why we need your support: Plastic packaging is the fossil fuel industry's Plan B to expand shale gas markets (most packaging is made from fracked ethane). These bills are facing massive industry opposition that can only be countered by the grassroots.
Register to join here: bit.ly/may-2-rally-nys
