NYS Packaging Reduction — Beyond Plastics - Working To End Single-Use Plastic Pollution

Help Put People Over Plastic In New York!

On May 28, 2025, the New York State Senate passed (33-25) the nation’s most comprehensive packaging reduction legislation to date—the Packaging Reduction & Recycling Infrastructure Act (A1749/S1464) introduced by Senator Pete Harckham and Assemblymember Deborah Glick.

The bill is currently pending in the NY State Assembly where it will hopefully come to a vote before the Assembly adjourns on June 17 or 18, 2025. We need your help to make two critical calls today:

Please call your State Assemblymember to urge them to vote “YES” on the Packaging Reduction & Recycling Infrastructure Act (A1749) before they leave Albany. Click here to be connected directly to your NY State Assemblymember now. >>
Then please call Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie at 518-455-3791 to urge him to bring A1749, The Packaging Reduction Act to the Assembly Floor for a vote this week, before time runs out!

Your voice is essential to passing this critical bill to save taxpayers and municipalities money, force polluting companies to pay to deal with their packaging waste, protect our health by banning 17 of the most toxic chemicals and substances from packaging (including lead, PFAS, formaldehyde, phthalates, bisphenols, PVC, cadmium, mercury, benzene, halogenated flame retardants, perchlorate, toluene, and more), and require companies to reduce their single-use packaging by 30% over 12 years. Call now !

VIDEOS

RESOURCES

NEWS

Beyond Plastics | Mayors, Counties, and Towns Urge Assembly to Pass Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act | 6/11/2025
Times Union Editorial Board | Trash the Plastic, New York: The Benefits of the Packaging Reduction & Recycling Infrastructure Act Outweigh the Costs | 6/11/2025
Beyond Plastics | Beyond Plastics Raises Concerns Over Inaccurate Packaging Cost Study | 6/11/2025
Beyond Plastics | National Sierra Club Head Ben Jealous Urges New York Assembly Leadership to Pass Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act | 6/10/2025
NY Daily News Editorial Board | Reduce wrapping, reduce waste: Speaker Carl Heastie and the Assembly must approve plastics bill | 6/8/2025
Times Union Opinion | LeBrun: The world is choking on plastic | 6/8/2025
Times Union Opinion | Producers Should be Responsible for Packaging | 6/8/2025
Beyond Plastics | Award-Winning Environmental Justice Advocate Stands With Legislators Against Plastic Pollution | 6/4/2025
Syracuse.com Op-Ed | Chemical industry sinks to new low to thwart NY packaging reduction bill | 6/3/2025
Beyond Plastics | ICYMI: As Chemical and Plastic Industry Spend Dirty Money, Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act Gains Momentum | 6/2/2025
Packaging Gateway | New York passes bill to shift packaging waste costs to producers | 6/2/2025
Buffalo News Editorial Board | Bill that has the teeth to address New York's plastic problem should pass | 6/1/2025
CBS News 6 | Environmental advocates push for packaging reduction bill at State Capitol | 5/30/2025
Albany Times Union | Packaging reduction bill passes Senate; Assembly fate unclear | 5/30/2025
City & State NY | Faith leaders urge Assembly to pass packaging reduction bill | 5/29/2025
Spectrum News | Bill aimed at reducing plastic packaging waste passes N.Y. state Senate | 5/29/2025
Beyond Plastics | BREAKING: New York State Legislature Passes Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act! | 5/28/2025
NY Focus | As Albany Debates Plastics Crackdown, Industry Pushes Softer Alternative | 5/28/2025
Mott Haven Herald | Bronx Reps Side with Chemical Giants Over Environmentalists on Waste Bill, After Industry Lobbying | 5/27/2025
The Yonkers Ledger | Call to Cut Plastic Packaging in NYS and Boost Recycling | 5/27/2025
The Daily Voice | Chemistry Council Lobbyists Skirt Campaign Finance Laws: Rivertowns Activists Fight Back | 5/20/2025
The Daily Voice | NY’s Mounting Garbage Crisis Nears Breaking Point As Seneca Meadows Landfill Faces Shutdown | 5/20/2025
Newsday | Prisons, plastics, end of life among issues as NYS legislative session winds down | 5/17/2025
NY Focus | Reporters’ Notebook: Ad Campaign Funded by Chemical Industry Skirted Campaign Finance Rules | 5/15/2025
Spectrum News | Lawmakers to advocates: 'Be vocal' in last month of session | 5/14/2025
Beyond Plastics | Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act Continues to Gain Momentum as Top Environmental Priority This Session | 5/13/2025
The Hudson Independent | Rivertowns Activists Take Their Ambitious Plastics Recycling Campaign to Albany | 5/13/2025
NY Focus | Chemical Industry Redoubles Campaign Against New York Waste Bill | 5/6/2025
Hudson Valley One | A few highlights of the Packaging Reduction & Recycling Infrastructure Act | 5/1/2025
Buffalo News Opinion | New Yorkers could be healthier with less plastic packaging |4/27/2025
Finger Lakes Daily News | NY Counties Call for Action on Waste Reduction | 4/23/2025
Beyond Plastics | New Poll: Majority of New Yorkers Want Less Plastic Packaging | 4/23/2025
Beyond Plastics | Report Projects New York Packaging Reduction Bill Will Save State Taxpayers $1.3 Billion in Just 10 Years | 4/16/2025
Spectrum News | Packaging reduction bill gains momentum in N.Y. as opponents push alternative | 3/20/2025
NYS Senate | Environmental, Civic and Faith-Based Groups, Legislators Call for Packaging Reduction | 3/20/2025
Beyond Plastics | Legislation to Curb Plastic Pollution and Save Taxpayers Money Passes Senate Environmental Conservation Committee | 3/11/2025
Albany Times Union | The truth about plastics is that much of it can't be recycled | 3/9/2025
Beyond Plastics | New Version of a 1990 Packaging Waste Report Shows the Problem Has Only Persisted 35 Years Later | 3/7/2025
Beyond Plastics | Legislation to Curb Plastic Pollution and Save Taxpayers Money Passes Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee | 3/4/2025
Beyond Plastics | As Plastics Industry Boasts About Their Political Access in Albany, Taxpayers Get to Foot the Bill for Their Plastic Pollution | 1/29/2025
City & State NY | Environmental advocates recycle campaign against plastic packaging for new session | 1/28/2025
New York Times | New York Has a Week to Pass Laws on Social Media and Plastics. Will It? | 6/3/2024
Albany Times Union | We're choking on plastics. Here's a chance to do something about it. | 6/3/2024
Newsday | NYS legislative session's final week: Top issues are social media, climate change | 6/3/2024
Gothamist | NY social media regulation, bottle refunds on deck as NY legislative session ends | 6/3/2024
Yonkers Ledger | 23 Westchester Elected Officials Urge Senator Stewart-Cousins to Reduce Plastic Packaging by 50% | 5/31/2024
Beyond Plastics | 23 Westchester Elected Officials Urge Senator Stewart-Cousins to Reduce Plastic Packaging by 50% | 5/31/2024
Buffalo News | Key bills percolating in Albany as Legislature's session nears end | 5/31/2024
Buffalo News | The Editorial Board: These bills will help advance New York's sustainability mission | 5/29/2024
Spectrum News | Supporters of New York plastics reduction bill make final push in the face of 'formidable' opposition | 5/28/2024
LoHud | Advocates Tell Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins 'People over Plastic' as Session Winds Down | 5/28/2024
New York Times | The Push to Control Plastic Waste in New York: What to Know | 5/27/2024
WAER | Environmental Bills Dominate End of Session Priorities for Two CNY state lawmakers | 5/27/2024
Black Westchester | Westchester Residents Urge Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins: Put People Over Plastics! | 5/23/2024
Beyond Plastics | New Poll: 82% of NY Voters Say Single-Use Plastic Packaging Is a Problem | 5/22/2024
NY Daily News | Reduce wrapping, reduce waste: Cut plastic to save money and the environment | 5/20/2024
Albany Times Union | Uncap This Bottle Bill | 5/15/2024
Beyond Plastics | New York City Leaders Unite For Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act | 5/9/2024
Beyond Plastics | Judith Enck Challenges America’s Plastic Makers to a ‘Cheese Debate’ | 5/8/2024
Bloomberg Law | New York Lawmakers Renew Effort to Reduce Single-Use Plastics | 4/10/2024
Beyond Plastics | Hidden Cost of Plastics: New Study Shows Single-Use Plastics Worse for Health Than Previously Known | 3/25/2024
City Limits | Chemical Industry Amps Up Lobbying to Block New York’s Waste Reduction Bill | 3/7/2024

ExxonKnews | Why the oil and chemical lobby is taking aim at New York’s plastic waste bill | 3/4/2024
Gothamist | New York Lawmakers Push Bill to Crack Down on Plastic Packaging | 2/28/24
ABC7 Eyewitness News | New Bill Aims To Tackle Plastic Packaging and Recycling | 2/28/24
WNYC FM Radio | NYS Lawmakers Want To Charge Businesses Fees Based on How Much Plastic Packaging They Produce | 2/27/24
Beyond Plastics | New York Is Not Disposable: 300+ Advocates, Environmental Leaders, and Lawmakers Rally at New York State Capitol to Fight Plastic Pollution | 2/27/24
Inside Climate News | Environmental Groups Eye a Potential Win with New York Packaging Bill | 2/20/24
Beyond Plastics | Legislation to Curb Plastic Pollution Gains Momentum; Passes Environmental Conservation Committee and Secures Majority of Assembly and Senate Support | 2/13/24
WXXI | Environmentalists Say Cutting the Amount of Plastic Packaging In Products by Half Is a Goal | 1/18/24
Channel 13 | The Push To Reduce Plastic Packaging Across New York State | 1/18/24
Packaging Dive | Environmental Advocates Renew Push for New York EPR Bill | 1/18/24
City & State NY | Quite a few lawmakers are on board to reduce NY plastic packaging by half | 1/18/24
Politico NY | Five environmental issues to watch this session | 1-8-24
WXXI News | Supporters of reducing plastic packaging say a hearing on the bill signals progress | 10-27-23

Nyah Estevez, Beyond Plastics Community Organizer speaks with BronxNet about the impacts of the Packaging Reduction & Recycling Infrastructure Act

Testimony in support of the Packaging Reduction & Recycling Infrastructure Act

Testimony in support of the Bigger Better Bottle Bill