Albany, NY – New York State Senator Pete Harckham completed his first legislative session as chair of the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee (EnCon) recently with 89 bills passed out of committee, 44 of which passed in the Senate and 30 in both houses that now await the governor’s signature. Harckham, as committee chair, also led the budget table during the negotiations for the FY2024 Budget and ensured critical funding for a number of initiatives.
Legislative Session Goes Into Overtime: NYLCV Bills on the Line
This week, the State Assembly returns for what is expected to be two more days of legislative action before they wrap up their side of the 2023 Session. The State Senate already completed their work, overwhelmingly passing a number of NYLCV-priority bills that have not yet been voted on by the Assembly, leaving the lower house with a huge opportunity on measures such as a Clean Fuel Standard (CFS), the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Law, and a Just Energy Transition, among others.
Once Again, Legislature Kicks the Can of Litter Reduction Down Trash-Filled Road
EPR for packaging bill fails to pass in New York before legislative deadline
Dive Brief:
A high-profile EPR for packaging bill did not pass in New York before the end of the legislative session this weekend, despite last-minute updates meant to address stakeholder concerns.
Another Voice: Our waterways and communities are drowning in plastic pollution
There have been misleading messages about the legislation currently being considered by the state legislature, known as the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act (S.4246/A.5322). The simple fact is that the proposed policy would begin to reduce plastic pollution in our Great Lakes and increase recycling, all while saving taxpayers money.
Commentary: Corporations, not communities, should be responsible for recycling packaging waste
The Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act will reduce waste and ease the burden on municipalities.
New York state generates more than 17 million tons of municipal solid waste each year, with a lackluster recycling rate below 20 percent. Instead of being recycled, much of our waste is going to landfills, being burned in incinerators, or ending up as plastic pollution in our communities and waterways. Each year companies ship billions of products, exacerbating the paper and plastic waste crisis, yet they bear no responsibility for managing the packaging waste they create.
At environmental forum, officials discuss host of issues including waste management, housing needs
Bill shifts reducing plastic and paper waste in New York to manufacturers
Harckham introduces bill to reduce packaging and increase recycling
Steve Englebright reflects on three decades of environmental advocacy
How you can recycle Christmas trees on Long Island
Hochul Pushes Changes to Carpet Bill, Igniting Bitter Debate Over ‘Chemical Recycling’
Some environmentalists say the amendments would allow unacceptable pollution. Others argue they’re missing the point.
GOVERNOR KATHY HOCHUL is seeking to rewrite sections of a carpet recycling bill in a way that critics say could open the way to controversial “chemical recycling,” leaving backers of the legislation in tense disagreement over how to respond.
EPR and packaging-reduction bill introduced in New York
The Time to Act is Now: New Yorkers Need Leadership from State Legislators to Increase Recycling, Reduce Landfilling, and fight Climate Change
ALBANY, N.Y. —
The New York State legislature has three weeks left this session to remove the economic burden of hundreds of millions of dollars from taxpayers and municipalities by coming together to the table to come to an agreement and pass extended producer responsibility (EPR) legislation. EPR is a strategy that mandates producers’ responsibility for their packaging by making them financially accountable for its end-of-life. In addition to its economic benefits, EPR will also bring universal curbside recycling to all New Yorkers and make it as easy to recycle as throw something away, which positively impacts the climate, reduces waste destined for disposal, and cleans up our communities. State and national leaders from Citizens Campaign for the Environment, the New York League of Conservation Voters, the New York Product Stewardship Council, and The Recycling Partnership have joined together to bring to the forefront that there is no better time in New York’s history to make as big an impact on the state’s recycling system as there is now.
On Earth Day, CT Environmentalists Rally to Modernize Bottle-Deposit Bill
HARTFORD, Conn. -- A coalition of Connecticut groups and lawmakers in support of new state bottle-deposit legislation are rallying in honor of Earth Day to raise awareness about reducing plastic waste.
NY enviros focusing on shifting the recycling burden to product producers
Bottle Bill Boost Plugged
Bottle deposit machines on every corner. Breezes free of incinerated trash particles. No litter in sight.
Climate activist Louis Rosado Burch painted this idyllic picture to Dwight neighbors as the outcome if the Connecticut General Assembly passes a new version of the bottle bill.
“I personally believe it will eliminate litter from nips,” Burch said.
Burch, Connecticut program director for the Citizens Campaign for the Environment, pitched the bill at the monthly Dwight Central Management Team meeting held virtually Tuesday night.
Connecticut bottle deposit fee could increase to 10 cents, expand to wine and liquor bottles as lawmakers seek to reduce trash
Another Voice: Recycling bill would help environment, taxpayers
In 2017, recycling markets in China and elsewhere began closing their doors to the U.S. Not only did this force us to deal with our own recyclable materials, but it also exposed fundamental flaws in how we manage solid waste. As a result, the U.S. is suffering from an ongoing recycling crisis, causing local governments, taxpayers and our environment to pay a heavy toll.
EPR is spelling green in Albany
Extended producer responsibility.
It’s a mouthful, and not a phrase that slides gracefully off the tongue. But it’s front and center for many environmentalists this year when it comes to state legislative action.
EPR, as it’s called, is a concept that forces manufacturers to pay the costs of recycling the products they make. For a region and state – and nation, for that matter – mired in a recycling crisis since China tightened drastically the recyclables it would accept, it could be a game-changer, according to advocates.
