A major plastics waste bill in New York is facing a well-funded counterproposal from chemical and business groups aiming to block stricter regulations by promoting a looser, industry-friendly alternative.
Colin Kinniburgh reports for New York Focus.
In short:
- The Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act, backed by environmentalists, would mandate packaging cuts, ban toxic ingredients, and restrict chemical recycling; a competing bill, the Affordable Waste Reduction Act, avoids such mandates and is supported by the chemical industry.
- Chemical industry groups have spent heavily lobbying for the new bill, including hosting New York lawmakers on tours of a North Carolina chemical recycling plant with a history of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) violations.
- Sponsors of the industry-backed bill, including Senator Monica Martinez and Assemblymember Chantel Jackson, have denied that industry wrote the legislation, though campaign finance records show donations and support from chemical interests.
Key quote:
“Plastics is plan B for big oil, and they don’t want a state the size of New York doing a bill that actually reduces plastic production.”
— Judith Enck, president of Beyond Plastics and former regional administrator at the U.S. EPA
Why this matters:
Plastic pollution has become a dominant environmental concern, with mounting evidence linking it to widespread ecological damage and human health risks. Despite decades of promises from industry, most plastic still ends up in landfills, incinerators, or as litter in waterways and oceans. Chemical recycling, often touted by petrochemical companies as a futuristic fix, has so far failed to scale or consistently meet environmental standards. At the same time, plastic production is projected to surge, partly because fossil fuel companies see plastics as a financial lifeline as demand for oil and gas wanes.
What happens in New York could ripple nationally: If the state adopts strict packaging reduction laws, it could force major companies to reform product lines or labeling practices, much like past shifts triggered by California’s environmental policies. On the other hand, if lobbying by industry succeeds in weakening or replacing the bill, it may signal a broader retreat from meaningful reform, letting corporate influence undercut environmental protections designed to curb one of the most stubborn forms of pollution.
Related EHN coverage: Environmental toll of plastics
