Help Put People Over Plastic In New York!

New York State is close to passing the most comprehensive packaging reduction legislation in the country—the Packaging Reduction & Recycling Infrastructure Act (S4246-d/A5322-d) introduced by Senator Pete Harckham and Assemblymember Deborah Glick. In June 2024, the Senate passed the bill! Now all eyes are on the Assembly to see if they will pass this bill that would save taxpayers and municipalities money, force polluting companies to pay to deal with their packaging waste, get 19 of the most toxic chemicals and substances out of packaging (lead, PFAS, formaldehyde, phthalates, bisphenols, vinyl chloride, cadmium, and many more), and require companies to reduce their packaging by 30% over 12 years.

Please join us and our allies in urging your New York State legislators to support and work to pass the Packaging Reduction & Recycling Infrastructure Act by taking the following actions ASAP.

VIDEOS

1. Call Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie to urge him to bring the Act to pass the Packaging Reduction & Recycling Infrastructure Act up for a vote before 2024 ends. Get the phone numbers and a simple script here. >>

2. Email your Assemblymember to urge them to pass the Packaging Reduction & Recycling Infrastructure Act. Send your email now. >>

3. Call your Assemblymember to urge them to pass the Packaging Reduction & Recycling Infrastructure Act this year! Click here to be connected directly.>>

4. Write a letter to the editor. Guess who reads local and regional papers? Your legislators and their staff! That makes your letter to the editor a powerful way to help convince your legislators to pass the Packaging Reduction Act. We’ve prepared detailed guidance and a sample letter you can adapt to help you to write a letter to the editor that will be published and will help move the needle to make packaging reduction law in NY. Get started now. >>

RESOURCES

• FACT SHEET: Why Colorado’s EPR Law Should Not Be Replicated - August 2024

• Packaging Reduction & Recycling Infrastructure Act - Main Provisions | July 2024

• MEMO OF SUPPORT: 301 Groups Support The New York Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act | May 2024

• LETTER OF SUPPORT for the Packaging Reduction & Recycling Infrastructure Act from Frontline Organizations | May 2024

• FACT SHEET: How Microplastics Get Into the Human Body | May 2024

• FACT SHEET: What Plastics Reduction Looks Like | May 2024

• 32 Municipalities Support The Packaging Reduction & Recycling Infrastructure Act | May 2024

• Ripped From The Headlines: Plastic Harms Human Health | May 2024

• Polluter Pays: New York Taxpayers Save When Companies Pay to Deal With Packaging Waste |
  April 26, 2024

• One-page flier on the Packaging Reduction & Recycling Infrastructure Act in color (PDF) | March 2024

• Memo of Support for the Packaging Reduction & Recycling Infrastructure Act | May 2024

• Testimony: Judith Enck, President, Beyond Plastics and Former EPA Regional Administrator
  before the New York State Joint Committee on Environmental Conservation In Support of the
  Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act (S4246A/Senator Harckham, A5322A/
  Assemblymember Glick) | October 24, 2023

• Testimony (written) : Alexis Goldsmith, Organizing Director, Beyond Plastics before the New York
  State Joint Committee on Environmental Conservation In support of the Bigger Better Bottle Bill
  (Senate bill 237/Senator May, Assembly bill 6353/Assemblymember Glick) | October 23, 2023
  (View video of testimony)

• Fact Sheet: The Worst of the Worst: High-Priority Plastic Materials, Chemical Additives, and Products
  to Phase Out | NRDC | October 2023

  
  NEWS

• New York Times | New York Has a Week to Pass Laws on Social Media and Plastics. Will It? | 6/3/2024

• Albany Times Union | We're choking on plastics. Here's a chance to do something about it. | 6/3/2024

• Newsday | NYS legislative session's final week: Top issues are social media, climate change | 6/3/2024

• Gothamist | NY social media regulation, bottle refunds on deck as NY legislative session ends | 6/3/2024

• Yonkers Ledger | 23 Westchester Elected Officials Urge Senator Stewart-Cousins to Reduce Plastic Packaging by 50% | 5/31/2024

• Beyond Plastics | 23 Westchester Elected Officials Urge Senator Stewart-Cousins to Reduce Plastic Packaging by 50% | 5/31/2024

• Buffalo News | Key bills percolating in Albany as Legislature's session nears end | 5/31/2024

• Buffalo News | The Editorial Board: These bills will help advance New York's sustainability mission | 5/29/2024

• Spectrum News | Supporters of New York plastics reduction bill make final push in the face of 'formidable' opposition | 5/28/2024

• LoHud | Advocates Tell Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins 'People over Plastic' as Session Winds Down | 5/28/2024

• New York Times | The Push to Control Plastic Waste in New York: What to Know | 5/27/2024

• WAER | Environmental Bills Dominate End of Session Priorities for Two CNY state lawmakers | 5/27/2024

• Black Westchester | Westchester Residents Urge Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins: Put People Over Plastics! | 5/23/2024

• Beyond Plastics | New Poll: 82% of NY Voters Say Single-Use Plastic Packaging Is a Problem | 5/22/2024

• NY Daily News | Reduce wrapping, reduce waste: Cut plastic to save money and the environment | 5/20/2024

• Albany Times Union | Uncap This Bottle Bill | 5/15/2024

• Beyond Plastics | New York City Leaders Unite For Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act | 5/9/2024

• Beyond Plastics | Judith Enck Challenges America’s Plastic Makers to a ‘Cheese Debate’ | 5/8/2024

• Bloomberg Law | New York Lawmakers Renew Effort to Reduce Single-Use Plastics | 4/10/2024

• Beyond Plastics | Hidden Cost of Plastics: New Study Shows Single-Use Plastics Worse for Health Than Previously Known | 3/25/2024

• City Limits | Chemical Industry Amps Up Lobbying to Block New York’s Waste Reduction Bill | 3/7/2024

• ExxonKnews | Why the oil and chemical lobby is taking aim at New York’s plastic waste bill | 3/4/2024

• Gothamist | New York Lawmakers Push Bill to Crack Down on Plastic Packaging | 2/28/24

• ABC7 Eyewitness News | New Bill Aims To Tackle Plastic Packaging and Recycling | 2/28/24

• WNYC FM Radio | NYS Lawmakers Want To Charge Businesses Fees Based on How Much Plastic Packaging They Produce | 2/27/24

• Beyond Plastics | New York Is Not Disposable: 300+ Advocates, Environmental  Leaders, and Lawmakers Rally at New York State Capitol to Fight Plastic Pollution | 2/27/24

• Inside Climate News | Environmental Groups Eye a Potential Win with New York Packaging Bill | 2/20/24

• Beyond Plastics | Legislation to Curb Plastic Pollution Gains Momentum; Passes Environmental Conservation Committee and Secures Majority of Assembly and Senate Support | 2/13/24

• WXXI | Environmentalists Say Cutting the Amount of Plastic Packaging In Products by Half Is a Goal | 1/18/24

• Channel 13 | The Push To Reduce Plastic Packaging Across New York State | 1/18/24

• Packaging Dive | Environmental Advocates Renew Push for New York EPR Bill | 1/18/24

• City & State NY | Quite a few lawmakers are on board to reduce NY plastic packaging by half | 1/18/24

• Politico NY | Five environmental issues to watch this session | 1-8-24

• WXXI News | Supporters of reducing plastic packaging say a hearing on the bill signals progress | 10-27-23