New York State must pass the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act

The Plastics Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act (PRRIA) would reduce single-use plastic packaging by 30% and prohibit use of the worst toxic chemicals typically found in packaging — the toxic chemicals we breathe in Peekskill. It would also establish a modest fee on packaging that plastic producers would pay to offset the high taxes we pay every year to get rid of our trash. This legislation has a ton of support — nearly 70% of New Yorkers, bipartisan, want it passed. It has 77 sponsors in the Assembly and 34 sponsors in the Senate — a majority of members in both houses. That’s a hole in one for just about any piece of legislation. However, after flying through committees in the State Assembly, it’s completely stalled. It’s stuck in the Senate, where Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins has the power to make or break it.

The plastic industry wants you to think that this legislation is too much too soon. But the Majority Leader, like those of us in Peekskill, knows what it’s like to breathe incinerator emissions. And the New Yorkers lucky enough to breathe clean air are still negatively impacted by the fast-growing plastic industry. Scientists estimate people consume, on average, a credit card’s worth of microplastics per week, which have been found in human testicles, placenta, hearts, breast milk, stool, blood, and lungs. A new study shows that microplastics are linked to increased heart attacks and strokes, and chemicals found in plastics have been associated with cancer, nervous system damage, hormone disruption, and fertility issues. A recent study from Columbia University found that plastic bottled water can contain hundreds of thousands of plastic fragments. This is just the tip of the iceberg — scientists are continuing to research the full scope of how, exactly, plastic negatively impacts our health. But what we know for sure, is that plastic pollution is taking its toll on all of us.