Manhattan Assemblymember Deborah Glick is the lead Assembly sponsor for a bill gaining momentum in New York’s state legislature. It would require companies to pay to manage their waste and reduce their plastic packaging production. It’s one of the major bills pending in the legislature that takes aim at curbing New York’s plastic production and consumption amid growing concerns over the environmental and health effects of plastic waste.
The legislation, called the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act, places more requirements and government oversight onto companies that produce plastic waste. It also would require producers to reduce their plastic packaging by 50% within 12 years. “It incentivizes the use of recycled material, and there’s very little plastic that can be recycled,” said Glick. “So there’s an incentive to use materials other than plastic, and it encourages reuse and refill.”
Other states, like Maine, Oregon and California, have passed similar legislation. But if New York’s version passes, it would have some of the strongest requirements. A version of the bill was first presented to the legislature several years ago and failed to pass. Since then, concerns over plastic production and waste have only grown.