Enact NYS bills to reduce plastic waste

Springtime is when those seemingly dormant things left behind suddenly come to life. And so it can be with two important pieces of environmental legislation left behind from previous years that state lawmakers should now revive and pass.

The Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act would make a big difference in the way plastic waste from one-time use is handled in New York as well as throwaway paper and glass. If enacted, experts say, it would also be a big step toward meeting the state’s goal in the landmark 2019 climate law of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030.  

One of the best parts of the packaging bill is that polluters would pay for this reform, especially companies that produce and handle packaging waste that fill up Long Island’s incinerators and nearly closed landfills. It targets the unnecessarily bulky food containers, countless snack wrappers, and streams of bottles and caps that often wind up littering our streets, parks and waterways.

Some business leaders call the bill impractical. They contend there are no good alternatives to plastic and that the higher costs of the measure will be passed on to consumers. Critics within state government are also concerned about the cost of hiring more DEC employees to administer the law.

Nevertheless, ignoring the widespread problem of plastic waste polluting Long Island’s beaches and waterways — and even found minutely in some people’s bloodstreams — carries more long-term costs and health consequences.

The bill, which is making its way through the legislature, would reduce some of the most toxic chemicals in plastic packaging. It’s similar to legislation already in effect in four other states.

Another worthy environmental proposal is the Better Bottle Bill, though its chances of passage this year seem dimmer. The bill would raise the state bottle and can deposit from 5 cents to 10 cents — a politically unpalatable option for many lawmakers up for election this year.

But the intent of this bill — to spur recycling and reduce litter — is important to protecting our environment. An update to the state’s container laws, first passed in 1982 for beer and soda bottles, is overdue, with deposits for wine and liquor bottles. With a greater 10 cent deposit attached, it remains an open question whether more people will return bottles and cans, rather than throw them away. 

In addition to these bills, state lawmakers should find ways to encourage more private development of bottle recycling centers through tax breaks. Too few facilities exist in the state. One proponent of this idea, Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine, has suggested developing a local glass recycling facility that could find better uses for throwaway bottles, such as grinding them into small pieces for use in roadway construction.

Polls show that the public strongly supports these environmental measures. It’s time to make them law.