Reducing plastic waste in New York has turned into a David vs. Goliath fight in Albany.

On one side: communities, environmental advocates, local governments, and public health organizations fighting to reduce toxic plastic packaging, save taxpayer dollars, and hold corporations accountable.

On the other: some of the world’s biggest corporations — Amazon, ExxonMobil, McDonald’s, Shell, Coca-Cola, and their allies — pouring millions into lobbying campaigns to protect the status quo of more waste, more pollution, and more taxpayer costs.

“The Problem with Plastic: How We Can Save Ourselves and Our Planet Before It’s Too Late” critically examines the paradox of this material, first celebrated for its innovations and now recognized for its devastating environmental and public health impacts. Coming soon from The New Press in December 2025.

The Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act (AB 1749/SB 1464) would not only help solve New York State’s growing solid waste crisis by reducing packaging waste by 30% over 12 years, protect public health by banning the use of 17 toxic chemicals in packaging, and improve recycling rates across the state, but also save New Yorkers a significant amount of money—an estimated $1.3 billion over the next 10 years.

This report describes the ways in which vinyl chloride has harmed and continues to threaten frontline communities, workers, and consumers; provides a sampling of the many vinyl chloride leaks, spills, fires and explosions that have occurred over the last five decades; and makes recommendations to the EPA to designate vinyl chloride as a high-priority chemical under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) process.

Just because a product is labeled “biobased”, “biodegradable” or “compostable” plastic does not necessarily make it better for the environment or safer for your health. Get the facts in Beyond Plastics’ new report.

A new report from Beyond Plastics and IPEN explores
the climate, health, and environmental impacts of these processes to expose chemical recycling’s deceptive nature.

Beyond Plastics’ new report highlights critical health concerns of using PVC plastic pipe as a replacement for lead water service lines. Every municipal government should weigh this choice carefully to avoid replacing one toxic material with another.

PVC plastic is poisonous to create and to dispose of. Paper and digital alternatives are readily available, making PVC plastic gift cards a poor choice that can be easily avoided.

This detailed, practical guide will help dry cleaners reduce their use of plastic to decrease their plastic waste and carbon footprint while increasing customer satisfaction and reaching new sustainably-minded customers.

This free guide offers restaurants detailed, practical, and inspiring advice for how to reduce the use of plastic in their operations and how to effectively convey those changes to customers, reporters, and the general public.

This helpful manual will guide any meal delivery service that’s interested in switching to reusable trays through all the considerations and decisions involved.

Report reveals a recycling rate of just 5-6% for post-consumer plastic waste in the U.S. in 2021 while the per capita generation of plastic waste has increased by 263% since 1980.

Although rarely acknowledged, the U.S. plastics industry is a major climate change polluter. New report reveals that plastics are on track to surpass coal's greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 - and more.

New fact sheet exposes the hidden climate and other environmental impacts of mail-back “recycling” schemes for poorly designed plastic items and packaging.