Environmentalists say cutting the amount of plastic packaging in products by half is a top goal
Environmental groups in New York say a top priority in 2024 will be getting a law approved that would cut the amount of plastic packaging in consumer products in half over the 12 years and help combat climate change. It faces fierce opposition from the plastics industry.
To Turn Off the Plastics Tap, We Must Grow the Grassroots Movement
Each year 11 million tons of plastics enter the ocean primarily from land-based sources. If we don’t work to curb plastics production, that amount will triple by 2060. At that point there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish. There will be so many dreadful statistics in our future if we allow the plastics industry to conduct business as usual, and this is what drove me to start a new organization with the central mission to end plastic pollution everywhere.
13,000 Petition Signatures Delivered to New York Capitol Urging Passage of Packaging Reduction Bill
In her post-EPA life, Judith Enck has made limiting the production and use of a plastic her life’s work. Her mission before the end of Albany’s legislative session is passage of an extended producer recycling bill, the “Packaging Reduction & Recycling Infrastructure Act," sponsored by the chairs of the Environmental Conservation Committees in both houses — state Assemblymember Deborah Glick and Sen. Pete Harckham.
Sick of All the Plastic in Your Life? A Proposed New York Bill Would Reduce It — And It Has a Shot
Advocates say polls show that the public is on their side. They delivered a petition including 13,000 e-signatures to the Assembly and Senate leadership offices. Lawmakers were off for the long holiday weekend before resuming session Tuesday for a two-week sprint to adjournment. With just seven working days left of the official 2023 legislative session, advocates for a measure that would reduce plastic packaging by half say their bill is gaining momentum.
Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act Proposed to NYS Legislature
The current New York State legislative session is scheduled to adjourn around June 9. A proposed Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act (assembly bill 5322 and senate bill 4246) may be voted on before the close of the session. The act would require plastic packaging to be reduced by half, reduce toxics in packaging and prohibit plastic burning.
California Passed a Landmark Law About Plastic Pollution. Why Are Some Environmentalists Still Concerned?
The law shifts the responsibility for plastic pollution from consumers to companies that make and use plastic packaging. Some green groups fear it gives the industry too much leeway.