Advocates and Business Leaders Warn Against Sabotaging Groundbreaking Efforts to Make Most of Used Plastics Recyclable
11th Hour Legislative Effort To Create Major Repercussions for New York’s Plastic Waste Crisis
More than two dozen statewide advocates and business leaders are cautioning lawmakers against hastily-written legislation introduced at the 11th hour that would snatch defeat from the jaws of victory when it comes to addressing New York’s waste crisis.
Responding to legislation introduced by Assemblymember Steve Englebright just 12 days before lawmakers are set to leave Albany, advocates warn that a provision in the well-intentioned legislation setting up an “extended producer responsibility (EPR) program” to curb plastic waste would prevent cutting-edge recycling facilities – already helping address the plastic waste crisis in nearly twenty other states – from operating in New York and close the door to more than $500 million in new economic activity annually.
This recycling technology, known as advanced recycling, would represent one of the most significant private investments in New York’s green economy – recycling more than 90% of used plastics, as opposed to the 10% we recycle now, and bringing with it hundreds of millions of dollars annually in economic output, hundreds of new green-collar jobs, and the potential to displace some 800,000 tons of used plastic from landfills each year. Despite the opportunity promised by advanced recycling, Assemblymember Englebright’s bill, as currently written, would ban these sustainable facilities from operating in New York.