Letter from Tracy Roberts

Bills Would Help Environment

While “Earth Day” has officially passed, let us not forget that every day is Earth Day. The New York State Assembly has an historic opportunity to take meaningful action in dealing with both our growing plastic pollution crisis and the ever-worsening climate crisis. There are two bills before the current legislative session calling for simple, effective solutions: The Bigger Better Bottle Bill (S227/A6353) and the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act (S4246/A5322).

The Bigger Better Bottle Bill would raise the deposit on cans and bottles to 10 cents, marking the first increase in more than 40 years, when the first bottle bill was put into law. Higher deposits mean more incentive for people to recycle and a badly-needed “pay raise” for the many low-income New Yorkers who depend on the redeemable deposits of empty bottles and cans.