FAHY, METZGER INTRODUCE BILL TO REQUIRE 100% RECYCLED CONTENT IN SINGLE-USE WATER BOTTLES BY 2025
ALBANY, N.Y. — Assemblymember Patricia Fahy (D — Albany) and Senator Jen Metzger today introduced legislation to require plastic water bottles less than 1.5 liters in size that are manufactured or sold within New York State to contain 100% post-consumer recycled content by 2025. A staggering 1 million single-use plastic water bottles are sold every minute across the globe, while one year’s global supply of bottled water requires 17 million barrels of oil to produce; and is projected to reach almost a quarter of annual global oil consumption. The bill also ensures the right to access clean drinking water via existing drinking water infrastructure.
“A startling 77% of plastic water bottles are never recycled each year in the U.S., highlighting the inefficiency of continuing to rely on single-use plastics for water distribution and consumption in the future,” said Assemblymember Patricia Fahy. “Compounding that crisis is the fact that microplastics never biodegrade in the environment, leaving these plastic particles in topsoils, watersheds, and the broader environment indefinitely. As we look to combat the impact of plastics production on our total carbon emissions, we have an opportunity to make healthy and affordable beverage choices available to all New Yorkers, while protecting our environment. Requiring 100% recycled content in single-use water bottles will help grow local recycling markets hit hard by China’s recent refusal to important recyclable waste and will help to alter our culture’s recently-learned practice of relying on bottled forms of water.”
The production of plastic water bottles emits over 2.5 million tons of carbon emissions annually, and plastics’ share of total global carbon and greenhouse gas emissions is projected to rise from 8% to 17% by 2050, according to a recent study by scientists at the University of California — Santa Barbara.1 Without action, the rapidly growing global demand for even more single-use plastics will counteract any predicted offset in carbon emissions from other sources, according to the International Energy Agency. It is therefore imperative that combatting plastic pollution and those emissions become a central part of the state’s push to achieve an 85 percent reduction in emissions by 2050 as laid out in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.
“More and more New Yorkers are doing the right thing by shifting away from single-use plastics and reusing beverage containers, but we continue to consume billions of plastic bottles of water a year at great cost to the environment and our wallets,” said Senator Jen Metzger. “This legislation will reduce resource use and pollution from plastics and simultaneously grow the recycling industry, creating new green jobs. I want to thank Assemblymember Fahy for introducing this bill and I’m proud to sponsor it in the State Senate.”
Building on Executive Order №18 of 2009, which required state agencies to establish plans to eliminate the State’s purchase and use of bottled water, the bill would prohibit the state government from purchasing single-use water bottles for official use, with exceptions for specific health requirements, natural disasters and states of emergency, infrastructure projects, and water quality issues.
“During the 2019 Riverkeeper Sweep cleanup, plastic bottles were the top item our volunteers reported finding at our survey locations along the Hudson River,” said Riverkeeper’s Legislative Advocacy Manager, Jeremy Cherson. “Senator Metzger’s and Assemblymember Fahy’s proposal to require plastic water bottles to contain 100 percent post-consumer plastics is a visionary step forward in the battle against plastic pollution and addressing the recycling crisis.”
“Most of New York State is fortunate to have an abundance of clean drinking water. Spending tax dollars or even private money on plastic water bottles is a waste of money, a waste of resources and contributes to the growing problem of plastic pollution,” said Judith Enck, Founder of Beyond Plastics and Former Environmental Protection Agency Regional Administrator. “9 million tons of plastic enter the ocean each year and in the next decade there will be one pound of plastic in the ocean for every three pounds of fish. Senator Metzger and Assemblymember Pat Fahy have introduced a commonsense approach that will help stem the tide of plastic pollution throughout the state.”
“We support this groundbreaking move by Senator Metzger and Assemblymember Fahy to recycle single-use plastic. Plastic is toxic, from its start as petroleum feedstock to its ocean dumping, incineration, or breakdown into microplastics. Manufacturing facilities and incinerators poison surrounding communities, which are often communities of color and low-income. And using plastic harms us. A recent study found that three-quarters of plastics tested could contribute to health problems,” said Kathy Curtis, Executive Director of Clean and Healthy New York. “We need to stop accepting chemical industry efforts to foist plastics upon us and invest in solutions that work for all of us for the long-term.”
Liz Moran, environmental policy director for NYPIRG, said, “As the world faces a climate crisis and a plastic pollution crisis, it’s time New York, the nation, and the word, ends reliance on single-use plastic. The oil and gas industry is counting on plastics to keep their industry running, and plastic bottles are frequently the most littered items found during beach cleanups. New York can do its part by not selling bottled water unless the bottles are made from 100% recycled content. We thank Senator Metzger and Assemblymember Fahy for introducing this legislation and urge its passage.”
