New York Senate passes Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act, which requires large companies to reduce packaging materials and improve recyclability over 25 years; bill’s fate in Assembly remains unclear

June 2, 2025 (Times Union) –

May 30—ALBANY — New York lawmakers are considering new packaging regulations for large companies that would require them to reduce the amount of materials they use while improving their recyclability over the next two and a half decades.

Democrats in the state Senate approved the bill late Wednesday night after more than two hours of debate over the contentious Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act.

"The reason this bill is so vital is because ... our landfills are filling up, we're not recycling, we're burning plastic, it's leeching," said Sen. Peter Harckham , a Democrat who sponsors it. "This is a human health bill."

It's the second year the Senate has approved the bill. It passed by two votes, with Republicans and a handful of Democrats opposed.

But its fate in the state Assembly is unclear. Democrats in both chambers have a rule against bringing legislation to the floor if it doesn't have the votes to pass. That's where the bill currently stands.

"It's early days in this," said Assemblywoman Deborah Glick , the sponsor in that chamber. "We still have time."

The concerns aired privately by some lawmakers fall into two main camps: that the bill would drive up costs for businesses, which would pass it on to consumers, and that its restrictions on the use of certain chemicals would force products off the market.

The legislation would not prevent businesses from raising prices to replace that revenue. Opponents have framed that as an inevitability if the bill becomes law.

"They also don't consider that as companies respond to this, they're going to have to reformulate some of their packaging materials," said Ken Pokalsky , vice president at the Business Council of New York State .

The Business Council wrote in an opposition memo to lawmakers last week that it hasn't heard from companies that support the bill as written.

It would only apply to companies that bring in more than $5 million in annual revenue or produce at least two tons of packaging. Small business owners would not be required to make any changes.

The bill has faced a mountain of opposition from industry groups, including a more than $2 million ad campaign intended to influence public opinion and an army of lobbyists at the state Capitol .

"In my seven years here, I have never seen anything like it — over $2 million spent to oppose this bill," Harckham said. "This is Washington-style money."

Lobbyists representing those groups — including giants like the American Chemistry Council , Coca-Cola and Kraft Heinz — have targeted nonwhite lawmakers in particular, warning that the bill's impacts would disproportionately impact communities of color.

That's an argument that the bill's opponents haven't been willing to use publicly, but it was forced into the open Thursday in a letter issued to lawmakers from faith leaders, in partnership with environmental advocacy groups.

"It is an immoral and manipulative tactic for these corporate interests to use communities of color as pawns to preserve their bottom lines," they wrote. "They are attempting to create division and fear where none should exist."

But it's a tactic that's been effective. Lawmakers have been receptive to arguments that the bill would drive prices higher and influence some brands to no longer sell in New York .

Part of that is because the bill would ban the use of certain chemicals in packaging five years after it takes effect.

That list includes materials like lead, certain styrofoam, formaldehyde, toluene and PFAS, a group of chemicals that can have long-term health effects, according to the American Cancer Society .

"That's nonnegotiable. The state can not continue to sanction poisoning our people," Glick said. "We aren't in charge of the packaging. The companies are, and we are responsible for getting rid of it."

It would require large companies to reduce the amount of packaging they use by 30% over the next 12 years, with benchmarks along the way. The first would require a 10% reduction in the next three years.

That would be companywide, meaning producers could maintain their current packaging for some products if they reduce materials elsewhere to reach those requirements. There would be exceptions to that rule, like for redeemable containers and packaging to protect hazardous materials.

The bill would also require companies to use more packaging material that can be reused or recycled. They would have until 2052 for three-quarters of their packaging to meet those standards.

Producers would also be charged fees depending on the kind of packaging they continue to use. That money would then be disbursed to local governments to pay for recycling infrastructure, either through public entities or private contracts.

That would allow local governments that currently shoulder that cost to pass the savings on to taxpayers. Opponents don't think that will happen.

"Those savings never get passed back to the taxpayer," said Senate Minority Leader Robert Ortt , a Republican. "They'll get used or reappropriated for some other municipal local expense."

The Assembly has until the end of this year's legislative session to consider the bill. That's scheduled to wrap up in about two weeks.

If it passes there, it would head to Gov. Kathy Hochul , who has not taken a position on the legislation.

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