New York could pass a bill reducing plastic pollution and litter, and bolstering reusables.
Can you help urge our state reps to vote YES?
The "Bigger Better Bottle Bill" is a much-needed update to the existing bottle bill that will reduce single-use plastic, tackle litter, bolster reuse as a waste solution, save taxpayer money, hold corporations accountable and more.
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The Bigger Better Bottle Bill would:
- Bring Back Refill with a 25% reuse and refill quota, which has never been passed in the US before. Major beverage companies would be required to sell 25% of their beverages in refillable, reusable bottles.
- Expand the bottle bill and create more consistency by including sports drinks, iced tea, hard cider, wine, spirits, and more. More beverage types being included in the program means more recycling, less confusion and less pollution.
- Raise the deposit from 5¢ to 10¢ to incentivize redemption, further reduce litter, and support the everyday heroes working to clean up New York. The nickel deposit was put into place in 1983, if that nickel was adjusted for inflation, it would be 15¢ today.
- Help keep recycling centers open. Recycling centers across the state are closing because producers aren't paying them enough to operate. This bill provides financial support to keep recycling centers in business by increasing the handling fee that beverage producers pay into.
Why is single-use plastic packaging waste such an issue in New York?
- Plastic is a major climate change polluter at every stage of its life cycle. In fact, if plastic were a country it would be the world's fifth largest greenhouse gas polluter.
- 40% of plastic production is to make single-use items that clog our landfills, pollute our air, water and soil when burned in incinerators, or end up littering our environment.
- New York has a whopping 10 municipal waste incinerators, tied with Florida for the most incinerators in any U.S. state. These facilities produce hundreds of thousands of tons of greenhouse gases, air pollution and toxic ash each year. The ash from incinerators is so toxic that it has to be stored in yet another landfill known as a toxic ash dump.
- New York City spends $429 million each year to export roughly 5 million tons of its waste to incinerators and landfills in other states or to the Finger Lakes in upstate NY.
