In a time when many people feel dismay at what is happening in government, here in NY we have an amazing opportunity to pass groundbreaking legislation this year. The Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act (S1464 – Harckham / A1749 – Glick) will ban 17 of the most harmful chemicals currently used in packaging, reduce plastic packaging by 30% over the next 12 years and require 75% of the remaining packaging to be reused or recycled by 2052. It will also save tax dollars by shifting the cost of managing packaging waste from taxpayers to the companies who create it, and protect environmental justice communities throughout the state by significantly reducing waste going to incinerators, landfills, and transfer stations. This last detail is particularly critical for Westchester, which, unbeknownst to most residents, currently burns trash in Peekskill, creating toxic ash and air pollution for us all to breathe. Plastics used to be only an environmental issue. Recent studies now prove that it interferes with our health in myriad ways, so eliminating 17 toxins from packaging is critical. The best part is the bill is projected to save NYS 1.3 BILLION dollars in the first ten years, 103 million of which will be here in the Hudson Valley! We must all thank Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart Cousins for passing PRRIA two years in a row, and urge Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie to bring PRRIA to the floor for a vote this session.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Horowitz
Member, Beyond Plastics Lower Westchester
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