Business Coalition Opposes New York PRRIA Packaging Bill, Calls for More Balanced EPR Approach
ALBANY – Multiple business groups, including AMERIPEN and The Business Council of New York State, will hold an advocacy day on Tuesday to focus on proposed extended producer responsibility (EPR) legislation for packaging under consideration by the Senate and Assembly.
The groups are opposing S.1464 (Harckham)/A.1749 (Glick)), the “Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act,” or “PRRIA,” which emphasizes prohibitions on packaging over effective recycling. The groups cite significant concerns about the bill’s unworkable recyclability and source reduction mandates (which go beyond any other states’ EPR laws), unnecessary ban on chemicals and materials (which no other state EPR law imposes), the lack of meaningful involvement of producers in setting up and running a new producer responsibility organization, and technology restrictions which are also found in no other states’ EPR laws.
“The PRRIA bill continues to fall short of a balanced approach that provides packaging producers responsibility in the solid waste and recycling system,” Danielle Waterfield, AMERIPEN’s Policy Director and General Counsel, said. “This proposal also fails to set up a workable structure for increased recycling rates, reduced toxicity, and greater circularity for packaging.”
MEMO IN OPPOSITION
The Coalition’s memo in opposition to S.1464/A.1749 is available here.
A multi-organization memo in support of S.5062/A.6191 is available here.
ALTERNATIVE LEGISLATION
The groups emphasized that many organizations and businesses have supported alternative legislation, S.5062 (Martinez)/A.6191 (Jackson). This legislation was introduced in the 2025 session and is modeled on Minnesota’s packaging EPR law that passed in 2024.
“We believe a well-designed EPR program will address the priority needs of key stakeholder groups, including state residents, municipal waste management programs, and private waste management companies, as well as the businesses that use, produce, and sell packaging products,” said Ken Pokalsky, Vice President of Government Affairs at The Business Council. “ We really appreciate the leadership role that Senator Martinez and Assemblymember Jackson have taken on this issue”
“Importantly, legislators have been responding to real concerns about consumer impacts and increased prices,” Pokalsky added. “Banning certain chemicals and materials used in packaging will impact consumer choices and add to already high costs. The more recent state EPR for packaging laws like in Minnesota, Washington and Maryland, have taken a more practical and measured approach that is material and technology neutral, that focuses on diverting material from disposal to end markets.”
AMERIPEN and The Business Council have been managing an informal coalition of more than 120 businesses and organizations that have been working on EPR for packaging legislation over the past several legislative sessions.
OTHER STATE COMPARISONS
To date, seven states – Maine, California, Colorado, Oregon, Minnesota, Washington and Maryland – have passed legislation imposing new requirements on producers of packaging (and, in several states, printed paper products) for the collection and processing of post-consumer materials. Importantly, the groups emphasized the need for states that are considering adopting an EPR program to first conduct a needs assessment and to wait until there is data from the earlier adopting states that demonstrates what workable legislation that avoids high costs and market disruptions for consumers and businesses alike is.
“We were engaged in each of the seven EPR states,” said Waterfield. “Most recently, we have seen Minnesota, Washington, and Maryland adopt legislation that received support after our most significant concerns were addressed. These included setting of ‘rates and dates,’ assuring a meaningful role for producers in developing and implementing material management programs. The result is what we hope will be effective and efficient EPR programs for packaging.”
“The Business Council has a wide range of members that would be impacted by EPR,” said Pokalsky. “Our goal is two-fold – to oppose legislation that will impose unnecessary and costly restrictions on business and keep the state’s focus on improving the existing state’s recycling efforts to ensure more materials are diverted from disposal to reuse. New York should include innovative approaches, such as advanced recycling technologies that are widely employed in the EU and Asia, that will allow for the environmentally sound recycling of a wide range of plastic products essential to markets. As part of our advocacy efforts, we are helping to educate legislators about these technologies and how they’re being used successfully in other states.”
AMERIPEN the American Institute for Packaging and the Environment – represents the entire packaging value chain, advocating for responsible packaging policies that drive meaningful progress in packaging sustainability while supporting industry growth and consumer needs.
The Business Council of NYS, Inc., is the state’s leading employer advocacy organization, with more than 3,400 member companies across New York's economy. The Councils serve as advocates for employers in the state’s political and policymaking arenas, working to foster a healthier business climate, economic growth, and jobs.