Latest Version of Expanded Producer Responsibility Act is Detrimental to Businesses, Costly to Consumers
ALBANY – The Business Council of New York State, Inc. is strongly opposed to the amended version of “Expanded Producer Responsibility” (EPR) legislation introduced last week, with just four days left in the 2023 legislative session.
The bill (S.4246-A/A. S.4246-A (Harckham)/A. 5322-A (Glick)) amended just last Thursday – represents a significant departure from the original proposal and a significant shift from the basic approach being adopted by other states, including California, Oregon, and Colorado.
The new version eliminates a meaningful role for packaging producers to help design programs for recovering, processing, and marketing covered material. Instead, the legislation creates two new state entities, one to manage recycling, reduction, and reuse programs and a second with authority – concomitant with the existing authority of the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and Department of Law – to enforce compliance.
“This legislation will not just be costly to private sector employers but will result in increased consumer costs and fewer choices for consumers,” said Ken Pokalsky, VP of Government Affairs. “Entire categories of packaging materials will be restricted, and companies will change their offerings to respond to new state-specific mandates and prohibitions, also hurting consumer options.”
The Business Council, on behalf of the business community, has provided the Senate and Assembly with extensive recommendations on legislation to enhance recycling and promote material use reduction; unfortunately, the majority of our recommendations are not reflected in this legislation, and this bill falls way short of creating a fair, workable, consumer-protective packaging and material management system.
A complete memo in opposition to this bill can be found on The Business Council’s website.