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Activists urge NYS Assembly pass the Packaging Reduction & Recycling Infrastructure Act

WAMC Northeast Public Radio | By Dave Lucas

Published September 15, 2025 at 4:21 PM EDT

"It will soon be two years since the Hochul administration released its 'Solid Waste Management Plan,' and another year has gone by without the governor seriously tackling the state's worsening solid waste crisis. 2026 must be the year that New York reduces packaging wastes, phases out single-use plastics, modernizes its ‘Bottle Bill’ — a program that has been described as an environmental success — and relies on the 'producer responsibility' approach that the governor has touted. New York simply does not have another year to waste.” —Blair Horner, NYPIRG’s senior policy advisor — "It will soon be two years since the Hochul administration released its 'Solid Waste Management Plan,' and another year has gone by without the governor seriously tackling the state's worsening solid waste crisis. 2026 must be the year that New York reduces packaging wastes, phases out single-use plastics, modernizes its ‘Bottle Bill’ — a program that has been described as an environmental success — and relies on the 'producer responsibility' approach that the governor has touted. New York simply does not have another year to waste.” —**Blair Horner, NYPIRG’s senior policy advisor**

Activists called on the New York State Assembly to pass the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act at a rally outside the state Capitol Saturday.

Beyond Plastics national organization director Alexis Goldsmith says the bill will phase out all non-recyclable packaging.

"It will make big companies pay to clean up their trash. It will get toxic chemicals out of packaging to protect our health, and it will prevent false solutions like chemical recycling from counting as real recycling," Goldsmith said.

The measure passed in the Senate for the last two years but despite heavy support, failed to make it to the Assembly floor for a vote. The Westchester Alliance for Sustainable Solutions' Courtney Williams laid blame on the Assembly Speaker. "Who does Carl Heastie represent here in Albany, the plastic producers, or the people of his district and the people of New York State?"

WAMC reached out to Speaker Heastie for comment but has not heard back.

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BACKGROUND
The Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act (S1464 Harckham/A1749 Glick) will transform the way our goods are packaged. It will dramatically reduce waste and ease the burden on taxpayers by making companies, not taxpayers and consumers, cover the cost of managing packaging. The bill will:

Reduce plastic packaging by 30% incrementally over 12 years;
By 2052, all packaging — including plastic, glass, cardboard, paper, and metal — must meet a recycling rate of 75% (with incremental benchmarks until then);
Prohibit 17 of packaging’s worst toxic chemicals and materials, including all PFAS chemicals, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), lead, and mercury;
Prohibit the harmful process known as chemical recycling to be considered real recycling;
Establish a modest fee on packaging paid by product producers, with new revenue going to local taxpayers; and
Establish a new Office of Recycling Inspector General to ensure that companies fully comply with the new law.

An April 2025 report from Beyond Plastics "Projected Economic Benefits of the New York Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act" shows how New Yorkers would save $1.3 billion in just one decade after the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act becomes law. These savings would come from the avoided costs of waste management when there’s less waste to manage, and they don’t even include the funds that would be brought in after placing a fee on packaging paid by product producers.