ALBANY, NY — Protecting the environment requires attention to a great many areas of interest. 

A recent focus for New York State environmentalists? Packaging materials. 

The state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) put together a solid waste management plan aimed at achieving an 85 percent recycling rate by 2050. To achieve that goal, the DEC advocates a complete re-think of the way we create products and throw them away. 

“The linear ‘take, make, toss’ model of use and consumption is outdated and fails to put New York on the path to achieve the state’s climate goals, safeguard the environment and protect communities,” reads the plan. 

Instead of a linear model, the DEC advocates for a circular one, which keeps valuable materials and resources in the economy of things rather than sending them out to a landfill. 

That shift most affects products that have, until now, been seen as disposable—packaging among them. 

Extended producer responsibility

A set of regulations for packaging tops the DEC’s wishlist included in the solid waste management plan. 

Forty percent of the municipal solid waste stream consists of packaging and paper products, according to the DEC. To help that figure, the DEC proposes something called extended producer responsibility (EPR) regulations.

EPR makes producers responsible for the entire lifetime of their products, from the factory floor to a recycling center or a landfill. It provides producers with incentives to direct as much as possible to recycling, and as little as possible to a landfill. 

“A comprehensive EPR program for these materials will be truly transformative as it will drive a fiscal reconfiguration for the entire recycling system… The legislative and fiscal responsibility for the management of their products will lead manufacturers to changes in product design or composition that will reduce waste at its source and make products more readily recyclable,” reads the plan. 

The Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure (PRRI) act, a piece of legislation currently active in the state legislature, would implement EPR for packaging materials. According to the New York League of Conservation Voters (NYCLV), New York State Gov. Kathy Hochul has pushed for the bill in the past two budget cycles, and four other states already have such a law in place: Maine, Oregon, Colorado and California.

“This proposal would shift the financial burden of recycling away from taxpayers and municipal governments to the producer, to compel these companies to use materials that are easier to recycle and generate less waste overall,” reads a NYLCV press release.

The Sullivan County chapter of Beyond Plastics, an advocacy group attempting to end plastics pollution, held an event Thursday, July 20 to thank Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther for co-sponsoring the PRRI act. 

“We are thrilled to pieces that Aileen has co-sponsored,” said Rebekah Creshkoff, Beyond Plastics member. “ will be re-introduced next January and [it] has a very good chance of passing now, after 10 years of trying to get packaging reduction passed in New York. We’ve just had time to make it better and better learn from others’ mistakes.”

“Aileen was happy to work with community partners to come to make this day a possibility,” said Matt McPhillips, legislative aide in Gunther’s office. “She’s a true environmentalist, really believes in making sure that we’re not polluting our drinking water, our air, our land, and she believes this is an important part of it, so [she’s] happy to be a part of it.”

Effects of the bill

The PRRI act puts regulations in place to reduce the amount of packaging used by producers, and to reduce the number of toxic substances used to make packaging materials. 

Producers of packaging materials have to register as such under the new regulatory program. From the time of their registration, they have to reduce the amount of packaging materials they use by 10 percent in three years. 

More targets apply every few years after that, finishing with a 50-percent reduction in the 12th year after registration. 

The regulations will also prohibit the use of certain toxic substances in packaging, starting two years after the regulations take effect. 

“I’m particularly thrilled that this bill would mandate the elimination of certain toxins, including known human health hazardous chemicals, from food packaging—and all packaging, for that matter,” said Creshkoff. 

The banned substances include per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (also known as PFAS or “forever chemicals”), polystyrene, formaldehyde and heavy metals. 

The legislation has, as well, a financial component. Producers will have to pay fees on packaging materials, with the program setting the fees based on factors including the amount of post-consumer recycled material used and how easy it is to recycle their products. 

The fees both provide a financial incentive for producers to cut down on the amount of packaging materials used in their products, and fund the program’s administration. The program will fund recycling infrastructure, with the goal that recycling resources for packaging materials will be as convenient as waste collection resources. 

The regulations will only apply to producers with over $1 million in total gross annual revenue and over one ton of packaging material used in a year. 

Sullivan County community member Sue Powell, left, and legislative aid Matt McPhillips hold signs to thank Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther for her …