Recycling (photo: NYC Council)

New York has a waste problem, and it demands a bold, collaborative solution.  

For years, New York has talked about Extended Producer Responsibility legislation to address this crisis. As an organization that is committed to leveraging innovation to protect our environment, the American Chemistry Council supports working toward and enacting a strong, effective EPR bill that helps increase our ability to recapture and recycle what we do produce. 

Unfortunately, there’s a last-minute attempt to push a bill (S.4246) through the State Legislature that threatens to do more harm than good to both our environment and our economy. 

Addressing a problem that will impact every citizen and business in New York is going to take the collaboration and participation of our government, businesses and citizens alike. And it will require leadership, innovation, expertise, and resources. Fortunately, New York has these things in abundance. 

That’s why it’s so puzzling lawmakers in Albany are taking this approach. Rather than assembling a broad cross section of experts who can offer solutions and stakeholders who will be impacted by those measures, a small handful of activists are pushing a costly and misguided approach.

The result? Expensive new job-killing mandates on businesses at a time when many are struggling with inflationary pressures. Additionally, the legislation would ban the very cutting-edge technology that would help modernize our over-burdened recycling infrastructure and play a critical role both in meeting the bill’s ambitious recycled-content requirements and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. 

The bill smartly proposes that more packaging be made from recycled content, which is fantastic. But it does nothing to remove the barriers that make recycling difficult today, and it ignores the central role plastics play in contributing to sustainability and combating climate change – for instance, by reducing the amount of material and energy used in the shipping of goods and helping keep products fresher for longer.

There are many ways to strengthen this legislation so it can better achieve its goals without harming New Yorkers. For instance, lawmakers should prioritize incentivizing environmental performance, so any proposed solutions effectively reduce waste and greenhouse gas emissions, rather than focusing on banning products and imposing costly and difficult-to-meet mandates on businesses. And they should encourage innovation by cutting bureaucratic red tape and providing the necessary support for businesses to develop and implement effective recycling solutions.

Serious environmental and economic challenges deserve thoughtful solutions shaped by input from a broad range of stakeholders. We are ready and eager to continue that conversation. That is why we urge legislators to reconsider S.4246 and engage the many willing partners across New York State who are eager to collaborate on an approach that helps protect our communities, our natural resources, and our jobs.

Solving our waste problem will require an all-hands-on-deck approach. In the weeks and months ahead, let’s get to work on finally making a truly effective Extended Producer Responsibility bill a reality.

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Craig Cookson is Senior Director, Plastics Sustainability, at the American Chemistry Council. On Twitter @AmChemistry.