Day: June 6, 2024💾

New York lawmakers said Wednesday they expect to pass legislation at the end of the week to limit single-use plastic packaging in the state after a bill printing error forced the measure to be amended for the second night in a row, and despite continued pushback from state business leaders.

Despite the unexpected procedural error, senior staff of legislative leaders have negotiated the Packaging and Recycling Infrastructure Act for days to reach a two-way agreement without the Executive Chamber. It was first updated late Monday and would mandate companies with a net income over $5 million reduce their plastic packaging products by 30% in 12 years. It would also prohibit 17 several toxic chemicals commonly in food packaging.

"We're finding microplastics in people's bodies," Assembly sponsor Deborah Glick told Spectrum News 1. "We don't know what the long-term health costs are going to be, so this is a common-sense, staged, stepped program to reduce packaging, share the cost, save our municipalities' and taxpayers' dollars and at the same time, ensure that businesses are keeping up with the demands of the market place."

It signed into law, the measure will create an Extended Producer Responsibility system in the state and require producers of packaging cover the costs of consumer waste and reduce used toxins. The system would charge companies that continue to use the single-use products a fee as the materials threaten to overrun landfills and are known to be harmful to human health.