As State Budget Falls Short On Climate, Lawmakers Make Final Push for Packaging Reduction Bill

This is the moment for New York to do something big commented Judith Enck founder of Beyond Plastics She s among those pushing state lawmakers to pass the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act before the session ends in June despite essential corporate lobbying against the bill Plastic products will make up a projected percent of New York s packaging waste in one summary says roughly million tons Photo by Adi Talwar When a New Yorker goes to the grocery store they aren t just buying food they re also buying waste That s because greater part products come in a package that eventually ends up in the trash This year alone the state will generate almost million tons of packaging waste a weight that is roughly equivalent to Empire State Buildings according to the non-profit Beyond Plastics Before the legislative session ends in June lawmakers are making a final push to pass a bill known as the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act PRRIA that aims to slash the amount of packaging waste New York produces by percent over the next years The efforts come after big ticket items championed by New York s environmental groups were left out of the state s final budget and as atmosphere protections are being rolled back on the federal level This is the moment for New York to do something big like passing PRRIA declared Judith Enck founder of Beyond Plastics and a former regional administrator in the U S Environmental Protection Agency EPA It would signal that New York is still interested in protecting the atmosphere The budget falls short While the state approved a budget for the fiscal year on May that includes selected setting wins environmental advocates say it s not enough The budget does set aside million for a pilot effort that will help homeowners do the repairs needed to participate in vitality efficiency and weatherization programs And there is a larger billion sum allocated for what Gov Kathy Hochul calls a Sustainable Future Fund which would mostly be used to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from buildings and help New York s transportation fleet go electric The capital will create good-paying jobs improve long-term affordability for families and significantly reduce harmful impurity announced Gov Hochul s deputy communications director Paul DeMichele We re prioritizing a greener market by expanding access to green transportation and charging infrastructure making our buildings more energy-efficient and ultimately saving people money he added While the administration calls it the largest circumstances commitment in New York s history the amount represents only a sliver of the state s billion budget And it won t provide the steadier stream of funding that programs left out of the budget sought to secure advocates say billion over the curriculum of the year is good But we need to make sure that there s continuous funding to address weather and reduce people s power bills and protect their strength stated Liz Moran New York guidelines advocate for Earthjustice Environmental advocates at a rally for passage of the NY Heat Act in which one supporter called the majority of key strength affordability bill of the session It still hasn t passed Alliance for a Green Market A Cap-and-Invest campaign that would put a price on carbon toxicity to raise billions annually for environment initiatives failed to come to fruition again despite the governor releasing an outline for the undertaking two years ago NY Heat Act another item championed by environmentalists which would curb the expansion of gas infrastructure and save ratepayers money didn t make it into this year s budget either Passing these and other pro-climate ordinance like PRRIA by the end of session could counteract a few of the circumstances setbacks happening on the federal level environmentalists argue The Trump administration has already promised to end dozens of Biden-era environmental regulations These include limits on environment impurity emitted by power plants as well as regulating emissions for light medium and heavy-duty vehicles Federal intervention is also stalling the advancement of projects to generate clean capacity from wind in New York We really need to make sure that New York State is standing up as a beacon for other states to look towards and follow while the federal leadership decimates environmental protections Moran reported Mounting opposition But in passing statute like PRRIA our major matter is just the army of lobbyists that are opposing it commented Enck At least companies and fossil fuel industry groups signed up this year to lobby against the bill That includes big companies like L oreal and Coca-Cola to oil giants like ExxonMobil and the American Chemistry Council a exchange group for the chemical industry that has vehemently opposed the bill It would require such companies to redesign the products they sell in New York to make them recyclable It would also prevent them from using the worst toxic chemicals in packaging like lead mercury and long lasting chemicals known as PFAS It will impact the way they do business You know this bill is designed to change behavior and they just don t want to do it mentioned the bill s sponsor in the Senate Peter Harckham It would also charge companies a fee for the packaging they use so proceeds could be funneled back to local governments The Business Council of New York called the bill overly-aggressive measure will lead to increased consumer costs and reduced consumer choices in addition to its direct cost-impact on businesses A mountain of plastic waste at the Sims Municipal Recycling in Sunset Park Brooklyn Michael Appleton Mayoral Photography Office As it stands taxpayers foot the bill for discarded packaging to make its way to landfills Supporters say the bill would cut back on the amount of waste discarded and shift the burden for waste management costs to the companies generating the trash New York City alone is estimated to save million over the first decade if PRRIA were enacted according to a account by Beyond Plastics Meanwhile the chemical industry rakes in massive profits from making discardable plastic products which will make up a projected percent of New York s packaging waste in the statement says The lucrative plastics industry generates over billion a year in profits The American Chemistry Council spent more than last year to lobby against the rule in Albany which is nearly double what it spent in NY Focus shared last week Still lawmakers are hopeful the bill will make it across the finish line before the session ends in June Last year PRRIA got the stamp of approval from the Senate but failed to come up for a vote in the Assembly And while it s still making its way through the necessary committees in both chambers Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie indicated that the bill will come to the floor for a vote this time around And the bill s sponsors made changes since last year that address concerns raised by the industry including cutting back on the amount of packaging waste the bill sought to reduce from to percent This year s version also allows companies to apply for a waiver if they can t meet the criteria We ve got a good bill that incorporates strong environmental and community fitness protections and yet makes it workable for industry Harckham noted To reach the reporter behind this story contact Mariana citylimits org To reach the editor contact Jeanmarie citylimits org Want to republish this story Find City Limits reprint procedures here The post As State Budget Falls Short On Atmosphere Lawmakers Make Final Push for Packaging Reduction Bill appeared first on City Limits