More than 80 Organizations and Businesses Continue to Oppose the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Act (PRRIA)

ALBANY – A coalition of more than 80 business associations and private sector businesses has issued a memo in opposition to the recently amended “Packaging Reduction and Recycling Act,” (PRRIA) S.1464-A (Harckham)/A.1749-A3 (Glick)

“While we appreciate recent discussions with the sponsors, the breadth of continued business opposition makes clear that these recent amendments do not reflect a balanced, consensus-based program, nor does it reflect a ‘compromise’ with business, as there has been no formal negotiation process,” said Ken Pokalsky, The Business Council’s Vice-President of Government Affairs.

“The bill will impact consumer costs and choice, as it imposes significant compliance costs on business,” Pokalsky added.

The coalition believes the bill continues to fall short of creating a workable, affordable, and achievable producer responsibility program.  The proposal includes requirements – such as stringent source reduction targets, material restrictions, and limited flexibility – that go well beyond those in EPR laws adopted by other states, most recently Minnesota, Washington, and Maryland.  And while these amendments borrow some language from these statutes, the overall structure of the PRRIA still differs in meaningful ways from EPR laws already adopted in other states, as it is focused on material bans rather than adopting comprehensive improvements to the state’s recycling systems.

Importantly, other states with far less expansive EPR laws are still working through complex implementation challenges, including high costs, legal challenges, and operational feasibility.  In this context, the PRRIA, as amended, continues to raises significant concerns about its practical implementation and impacts.

Priority concerns raised repeatedly by businesses are insufficiently addressed and unresolved by these amendments, including source reduction mandates, material bans, limited waiver provisions, the role of producers in program design and implementation, cost allocation for disposal, and the treatment of advanced recycling technologies.

Multiple rounds of amendments have incorporated some “lessons learned” from other states’ EPR efforts.  However, the bill remains imbalanced and will garner little business support.

Even so, the business community continues its good faith efforts on EPR, and many businesses and business organizations support alternative EPR legislation already introduced in the New York legislature – S.5062/A.6191.  This bill, modeled on Minnesota’s EPR law, has more than thirty Democrat sponsors and provides a practical, workable blueprint for an effective, affordable statewide program to divert more post-consumer materials from disposal to remanufacturing and reuse.

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The Business Council of New York State has more than 3,000 members serving over 1 million private-sector workers. Over 70% of our members are small businesses