New York’s bill regarding producer responsibilities for packaging materials face uncertain fate amidst opposition from industries
The New York Senate passed S1464 on 28 May 2025, which seeks to implement extended producer responsibilities (EPR) for packaging and packaging materials. Otherwise known as the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act, the bill would require companies to register with the state, create collection systems and take back programs as well as eliminate hazardous chemicals from packaging and packaging materials. These requirements would impact suppliers of packaging materials and product brand owners whose products contain plastic packaging.
Small and medium sized entities would be exempted if during the prior calendar year they:
Have 5 million USD in revenue during the prior calendar year, or
Distribute or use less than 2 tons of packaging materials
Are a dairy cooperative with less than 50 employees or
Are a non-profit organization engaging in preparing and delivering medically tailored meals and medical nutrition therapy.
The bill faces an uncertain fate as it awaits the State Assembly’s actions while a companion bill, A 1749, has stalled in committee. With the legislative session ending less than a week, on 12 June 2025, it is uncertain whether the state Assembly would be able to vote on it before adjournment. Last year, a similar bill died after the HoA failed to vote on it before the legislative session adjourned.
The bill faced strong opposition from industries and businesses due to the material chemical restrictions in the bill, which industries claimed amounted to a product ban. If passed, the new law - after 3 years after its enactment - would prohibit companies from using the following substances as an intentionally added substance in packaging:
Ortho-phthalates
Bisphenhols
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)
Heavy metals (lead, hexavalent chromium, cadmium, mercury)
Benzophenone and its derivatives
Halogenated flame retardants
Perchlorate
Formaldehyde
Antimony and compounds
UV 328
Polyvinyl chloride, including polyvinylidene chloride (PVC)
Polystyrene
Polycarbonate (PC)
After 5 years, these substances would not be permitted for use whether as intended or used unintentionally. The bill would also set up a Toxic Packaging Task Force to review and potentially recommend other substances that would be placed on this list.
The bill would also set the following specific recycling targets:
20% of plastic packaging must be recycled or reused by 2030.
50% of plastic packaging must be recycled or reused by 2037.
75% of plastic packaging must be recycled or reused by 2052.
Since the bill’s re-introduction this year, industries and trade groups have spent quite a lot of time and resources to defeat it, including taking out attack ads on swing district Democrats in local papers. New York Focus has reported that the bill is “Albany’s most lobbied-on” bill, drawing interest from national brands such as Coca Cola, Target, L’Oréal, and Kraft Heinz. The American Chemistry Council (ACC), a trade association representing Dow, DuPont, 3M, ExxonMobil, Chevron and other chemical manufacturing companies, has reportedly spent almost a million dollars in an effort to defeat the bill.
Ameripen, the Can Manufacturers Institute, the Flexible Packaging Association, the Biodegradable Products Institute, the Plastics Industry Association, and the Carton Council have previously supported an alternate EPR bill known as the Affordable Waste Reduction Act, which is sponsored by Democratic state Senator Monica Martinez but has not progressed.
Implications for businesses:
If the bill passes into law, it would usher in another recycling and EPR program in the US making it the 8th state to require such a program. Additionally, New York would also join California and other states in banning these chemical substances from packaging. New York’s bill, however, extends the ban to other chemicals which are still currently permitted in other states. Even if the bill does not pass in New York, companies must still evaluate its packaging and create a compliance plan to ensure compliance with the various state requirements.
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