The petrochemical industry wants us to believe we can’t live without plastics, often pointing to medical devices. But the truth is that more than 40% of new plastic goes to make single-use packaging—and New Yorkers have to foot the bill for dealing with that packaging once it’s thrown away. 

Now the good news: Two bills in the state legislature could change all that—and you can help! 

The Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act would require companies to:

Reduce their packaging by 30% in 12 years.

Make the remaining packaging truly reusable or recyclable.

Ban the most toxic chemicals currently used in packaging.

Pay to clean up their packaging waste by reimbursing municipalities and taxpayers for the collection and processing of those materials.

Prohibit incineration and so-called “chemical recycling” from counting as recycling.

The New York State Senate passed this bill last spring, but we ran out of time to get it passed in the Assembly. So we’re hitting the ground running to get it passed in both houses this year. 

The Bigger Better Bottle Bill would expand New York’s existing container deposit law to include tea, wine, liquor, hard cider and those tiny “nips” bottles. It would also raise the deposit from a nickel to a dime, which would motivate more people to redeem their empties—and give the 10,000-plus workers who collect empties for a living (they call themselves “canners,” but I prefer “redeemers”) a much-deserved raise. This bill could increase New York’s container redemption rate from 64% to a whopping 90%. 

The plastics and beverage industries are dead set against both bills, and their paid lobbyists are roaming the halls of the state capitol in Albany, pressuring legislators to reject them. We need to demonstrate massive grassroots support to counter these industry lobbyists and get these bills passed.

Help strengthen the movement to put people over plastic in New York and join us in Albany on Tuesday, January 28. We’ll rendezvous at 10:30 a.m. at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 85 Chestnut St., then walk to the Legislative Office Building, where we’ll meet with as many legislators as possible until 4 p.m. Appointments will be made for us in advance.  

Folks traveling from downstate can get free roundtrip bus transportation, but space is limited, so RSVP ASAP. The bus will leave from Manhattan at 7 a.m. on January 28, stopping to pick up more folks in Westchester. The bus will depart Albany at 4:15 p.m. Pickup locations and details are on the RSVP page at bit.ly/1-28-25.

New York needs to start addressing waste at the source, and that’s just what these two bills are designed to do. Please join us in Albany on Tuesday, January 28, to raise your voice for a better future for New York. Our planet can’t wait! 

Rebekah Creshkoff is a retired communications professional and a co-founder of Beyond Plastics Sullivan County NY. She lives in Callicoon.