Extended Producer Responsibility (S-1185-C)

February 17th, 2022

RE:  Establishes the extended producer responsibility act

MEMORANDUM IN OPPOSITION

Upstate United, a non-partisan, pro-taxpayer, pro-economic growth, education and advocacy coalition made up of Upstate business and trade organizations, opposes this legislation.

This bill would establish the Extended Producer Responsibility Act, representing a drastic and fundamental change to the recycling system in New York State. If enacted, this would shift the burden of transferring end of life packaging materials (glass, metals, plastic, paper, etc.) from municipalities to “producers” which is loosely defined and includes manufacturers of these types of products, as well as companies who import, use or sell these types of products.

Rather than improve on the state’s existing recycling infrastructure this is yet another example of Albany trying to reinvent the wheel. There is no similar program that has been introduced in any of the other 49 states, this is untested and unproven. Not only are the potential costs and effects completely unknown; the correct steps to find these unknowns aren’t being proposed. When introducing a statewide shift on this scale there should be public hearings, studies on cost and market impact, a period for these “producers” to provide testimony and explain the impact that this act would have on them. Instead of taking the correct steps this bill simply wants to shift an enormous responsibility onto “producers” and move on.

New York State has a comprehensive recycling system already in place including a statewide solid waste planning process, a statewide requirement for municipal curbside collection and management of material as well as statutory programs to help municipalities and businesses expand markets for end of life materials. The framework for an efficient system is already in place but our elected officials have neglected to update it since 2010. Updating the framework that is already in place would be the sensible approach at any time, it is the cost effective and cost efficient way to improve our state’s recycling system. This rings especially true in the midst of a pandemic that has ravaged the business community. This unprecedented shift of responsibility with unknown costs could be disastrous for these businesses that are barely hanging on through these tough times.

Upstate United has consistently advocated for policies that improve our state’s business climate. This legislation will add an additional burden to a loosely defined group of “producers” causing further difficulty for businesses in the already harsh NYS business and regulatory community. This bill would introduce yet another burden to struggling businesses during a pandemic when they are barely hanging on as is.

For these reasons, we strongly oppose the enactment of this legislation.