Action Alerts

Local Action Alerts

 

Paint – May 19, 2015

Take Action: Please contact your State Senator and your State Assembly Member TODAY and ask him/her to support Paint Stewardship legislation. Encourage your State Senator to support S4926 and your Assembly Member to support A6199.

Roughly 3.9 million gallons of leftover paint are generated in New York each year. Most leftover paint is currently disposed of in the trash. Management of leftover paint in New York results in a cost that represents as much as 50% of municipalities’ household hazardous waste budgets, costing small local governments tens of thousands of dollars each year (in larger counties, and in NYC, these costs are exponentially greater).

A statewide paint stewardship program would hold the paint industry responsible for collecting and managing leftover paint in New York. In addition to reducing government costs, such a program would establish convenient, year-long recycling opportunities, reduce waste by encouraging the public to purchase the right amount of paint for a job, and could create green sector jobs in the state.

Other states, including Rhode Island, Connecticut and Oregon have passed legislation implementing paint recovery programs managed by PaintCare (a paint stewardship organization), saving local municipalities tens of thousands of dollars on paint management costs, and establishing retail collection sites to make paint drop recycling more convenient for residents.

Click here for a sample letter of support to your State Senator.

Click here for a sample letter of support to your Assembly Member.

Find more information about paint legislation in NY here.

 

Electronics – May 19, 2015

Take Action: Please send a letter of support TODAY to your State Senator and State Assembly Member on behalf of your local government requesting action to change the electronics recycling law. Find a sample letter of support here

Take Action: Encourage your local government executive body to pass a resolution supporting changes to the New York State Electronic Equipment Recycling & Reuse Act. Find a sample resolution here.

The New York electronics extended producer responsibility (EPR) law has substantially increased electronics recycling in the state and aided in reducing costs to local governments. However, the requirements for manufacturer collection are not keeping pace with materials coming in, so many local governments are facing e-scrap recycling costs and some are ceasing collection all together.

Insufficient manufacturer support is causing instability and uncertainty in the electronics recycling market, which is eroding the law’s intent to provide free and convenient collection to all New York residents. The New York State Electronic Equipment Recycling & Reuse Act needs to be updated to ensure that local governments are not faced with the financial responsibility for continued e-scrap collection, especially now that disposal of electronics is banned.

The thirteen changes needed to stabilize the program and ensure continuous free and convenient e-scrap collection are outlined in the Proposed Improvements to the New York State Electronic Equipment and Reuse Act.

 

Please forward this information on to others who will take action.

Thank you for your help and attention to these urgent matters.

 

For more information, please contact:
New York Product Stewardship Council
1971 Western Ave., #1195
Albany, NY 12203
Phone: (917) 597-2119
contact@nypsc.org
www.nypsc.org