Conservation law reforms in New York face opposition

BUFFALO, N.Y. — The New York State Assembly this week proposed legislation expanding the state’s bottle deposit program and another aimed at reducing the production of packaging plastics out of the Way and means.

Labor groups including the Teamsters and the AFL-CIO, as well as industry groups like the Association of Convenience Stores, have sent letters of opposition to lawmakers.

“We’re in the process of trying to understand what exactly their real, specific concern is. To say it’s ‘heavy’ is not specific enough for us to answer,” said Assembly Member Deborah Glick , Democrat from Manhattan.

Glick, who is sponsoring both bills, asked the body to discuss the proposals.

“This is a way to give members an opportunity to ask questions of the sponsor and not rely on some misinformation or biased arguments in the memos that are part of the process,” she said .

The State Restaurant Association specifically opposes the bottle bill, which would increase the deposit from 5 cents to 10 cents by 2026 and require the deposit for additional drinks. By 2029, it would cover almost all potable products, including alcohol and wine, which restaurants say in many cases will functionally become an additional fee for them and create storage and coding issues health.

“I understand what is at the heart of this, which is being better environmental stewardship, but this is not the right way to do it,” said Dominick Purnomo, director of the New York State Restaurant Association.

Eastman, a $10 billion global specialty materials company, says Parliament must take a multifaceted approach to conservation. Chris Layton, head of the circular policy, strategy and communications team, said current policy proposals exclude, rather than promote, new molecular recycling technology the company has invested in and which would enable recycling of different types of plastics such as shampoo bottles, meat trays and carpets.

“Policy must enable innovation,” Layton said. “It needs to be able to take into account feedback from other stakeholders who have concerns to shape it properly and so these current bills require additional work.”

He said the idea that recycling doesn’t work is wrong, consumers want to protect the environment and new technology will make things easier.

“More things can go in there, not only recycling from your kitchen, but also things from your bathroom can now be recycled,” Layton said.

Glick believes businesses and consumers can adapt to the new rules and that there is too much evidence showing exactly how dangerous plastics can be.

“We can’t recycle our way out of plastic,” she said. “We need to stop using plastic because it’s not going away.”

The Packaging Reduction Act requires manufacturers with revenues exceeding $5 million and producing more than two tons of waste per year to contribute to a fund used to expand and support municipal recycling infrastructure. This would require a reduction in the amount and types of packaging produced over time and the more companies reduce, the less they would have to contribute to the fund.