BILL NUMBER: S5062
SPONSOR: MARTINEZ
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to
producer responsibility
 
PURPOSE:
Enacts the "Affordable Waste Reduction Act." SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1- Amends article 27 of the environmental conservation law by
adding new title 34 to enact the Affordable Waste Reduction Act provid-
ing for the establishment of producer responsibility organizations and
service providers. Key components of the program established by the bill
include:
1. The registration of producer responsibility organization (PRO)
service providers.
2. The establishment of and responsibilities of a diverse, multi-party
producer responsibility advisory board.
3. The responsibilities of the Department of Environmental Conservation
(DEC) to include appointing members of the advisory board, complete a
recycling/reuse/composting needs assessment, review and approve PRO
stewardship plans, develop lists of recyclable materials and post public
information on the DEC's website, among others.
4. The responsibilities of the producer responsibility advisory board,
including consulting with the DEC on its needs assessment, advise on the
development of PRO stewardship plans, provide guidance to the DEC for
its development of implementation rules, among others.
5. Producer responsibility organizations responsibilities including the
development of the PRO stewardship plan and its submission for DEC
review and approval, implementation of the approved stewardship plan,
ensure that producers operating under the plan comply with its
provisions and the provisions of the Act, review and respond to recom-
mendations from the Advisory Board, provide public educational informa-
tion and reimburse municipal and private service providers.
6. The responsibilities of individual producers, including their partic-
ipation in a PRO, and limiting their sale of materials in New York to
only those covered by the PRO stewardship plan.
7. Service provider responsibilities, including providing covered
services, registration with the DEC, meeting performance standards set
in the DEC-approved service providers, assure that recovered materials
are sent to responsible markets, among others.
8. Requires the DEC to complete both a preliminary and final needs
assessment that includes both post-secondary material stream character-
ization and an assessment of current and needed material recovery and
processing capacity.
9. Sets forth requirements for PRO stewardship plans including perform-
ance targets for each category of covered materials, including reuse
rates, return rates, recycling rates, composting rates, waste reduction
and post-consumer recycled content rates, all to be reviewed and
approved by the DEC. The plan is to also set producer fees based on
material amounts and characteristics, provided for third-party certif-
ication of plan results, among other measures..
10. Requires the DEC to adopt lists of recyclable and compostable mate-
rial that must be included in PRO stewardship plans.
11. Sets criteria for establishment of producer fees to be charged by
the PRO, which such fees to be developed to incentivize the use of mate-
rials the reduces environmental impacts, facilitates recycling and
prioritizes reuse.
12. Provisions for the reimbursement of service providers by the PRO.
It includes the requirement that infrastructure investments be selected
through a competitive bid process, and that the producers reimburse
service providers on an upward-sliding percentage of total service
provider costs.
13. Establishes requirements for annual reports by the PRO.
14. Requires the PRO to maintain a public website for the sharing of
program and performance information.
15. Provides for antirust protections for coordinated producer activ-
ities necessary to meet the requirements of the Act.
16. Authorizes DEC to adopt regulations necessary for implementation of
the Act.
17. Requires any person to submit information to the DEC necessary for
purposes of implementing the Act.
18. Provides for civil enforcement based on existing provisions of the
Environmental Conservation Law relative to solid waste management activ-
ities.
19. Establishes the packaging and paper product stewardship account to
finance the DEC's implementation activities.
Section 2. Provides that the Act becomes effective on the first day of
the second calendar month on which it becomes law.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
This legislation would enact the Affordable Waste Reduction Act, modeled
on recent legislation adopted in Minnesota with broad, bipartisan
support. It would implement a program to divert post-consumer packaging
and paper products from disposal to be collected, processed and either
reused, composted or remanufactured into useful products. Importantly,
it will shift the majority of costs incurred by municipalities and indi-
viduals to manage their post-consumer source-separated packaging and
paper materials to material producers. These producers will be responsi-
ble for assuring the effective reuse of such materials, as well as
promoting product design that supports material reuse and source
reduction.
The legislation is intended to establish an effective, efficient program
that will minimize costs and inconveniences for consumers, while provid-
ing material producers with a workable, affordable program to increase
recycling and reuse of their packaging and paper products.
Specifically, the bill requires:
- The creation of business-led producer responsibility organizations
(PRO), the participation in the PRO of all packaging and paper producers
subject to the statute, and the adoption of packaging- and paper-focused
EPR plans based on input from a multi-stakeholder advisory committee and
subject to approval by the DEC.
- Adoption of targets for material recovery, overall recycling, and
material-specific recycled content rates, and a requirement that PROs
propose periodic increases in these target numbers, based on real-world
experience and data, all subject to public review and DEC approval.
- Municipalities and private waste management companies to provide the
PRO (and state) with more detailed material- and finance-related infor-
mation necessary for the development of data-based recycling plans,
require service providers to meet performance standards for reimburse-
ment, and requires a limited sharing of recycling costs.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This Act becomes effective on the first day of the second calendar month
on which it becomes law.