Photo by Tom Fisk: https://www.pexels.com/photo/bird-s-eye-view-of-landfill-during-daytime-3174345/
Hold manufacturers—not taxpayers—responsible for their waste!
New York State is suffering from a solid waste and recycling crisis—recycling costs for municipalities and taxpayers have skyrocketed, recycling rates have declined, and our environment and health are suffering from pollution caused by excessive plastic packaging. Currently, corporate brand owners bear no responsibility in managing the product packaging waste they have created.
To help address this solid waste crisis, Governor Hochul included the Waste Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act in her 2023-24 budget proposal, while Senator Harckham has proposed even stronger legislation in the NYS Senate (S.4246-Harckham). The policy requires product manufacturers—not taxpayers—to be responsible for the cost of collecting and recycling the packaging and paper they create. A strong, effective policy will reduce packaging waste, increase recycling, eliminate toxic chemicals in packaging, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and save local governments across the state hundreds of millions of dollars annually!
BACKGROUND
Plastic packaging and paper recycling are in crisis: New York generates more than 17 million tons of municipal solid waste annually. An estimated 40 percent of that waste is composed of product packaging and paper products, such as plastic containers, steel cans, plastic film, glass bottles, paper, and cardboard. Unfortunately, less than 20% of this waste is being recycled properly. Instead of being recycled, much of this waste ends up as litter in our communities, shipped to landfills, or burned in trash incinerators.
Costs to local governments—and taxpayers—have skyrocketed: Municipalities were once getting paid for recyclables, but now they must pay to recycle. Instead of generating revenue from recyclables, many municipalities face recycling costs in the hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars per year. The solid waste and recycling crisis is estimated to cost New York’s local governments $180 - 230 million annually. Local officials are now forced to consider raising fees on residents and/or reducing the recycling services provided to their communities.
New York’s waterways are suffering from increased plastic pollution: All too often, plastic packaging is littering our communities, ultimately making its way into our treasured rivers, lakes, bays, and ocean. Plastics do not biodegrade once they enter the environment—instead they break down into tiny pieces known as microplastics, which are frequently mistaken for food and ingested by fish and other aquatic wildlife. Recent research indicates that Lake Erie contains 381 metric tons of plastic—more than 50 times greater than the previous estimates at the surface. In NY/NJ Harbor Estuary, there are an estimated 165 million plastic particles floating in the water at any given time. In Long Island Sound coastal communities, voluntary clean ups report finding over 110,000 pounds of marine debris on beaches over the last 8 years.
Large Brands are Failing to Take Responsibility: Currently, manufacturers bear no responsibility for disposing of packaging waste they create. Large brands have externalized the cost of disposing of packaging onto our municipal recycling programs and local taxpayers. For example, an estimated 165 billion packages are shipped in the U.S. every year, and yet companies currently bear no responsibility for managing any of this packaging waste that their businesses create. Instead, taxpayers are shouldering the financial burden for disposal.
The Solution to Reducing Waste and Saving Taxpayers Money: Hold Manufacturers Responsible for their Waste! The Waste Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act (often referred to as Extended Producer Responsibility or EPR) would require manufacturers to take responsibility for their products throughout their entire product life cycle, by bearing the cost of properly recycling their packaging and printed paper. Not only does this provide relief to taxpayers, but it also drives producers to minimize packaging materials, improve recyclability, and reduce the toxicity of their products. These policies have existed in Canada and the EU for decades and resulted in recycling rates upwards of 80%.
Thank you for taking action. Together we make a difference!
Sincerely,
Your friends at CCE