Regulates the distribution of telephone directories and requires distributors to collect and recycle them

BILL NUMBER:S6575A

Title of bill

An act to amend the environmental conservation law and the general busi- ness law, in relation to telephone directory reduction and recycling

Purpose

To reduce and eliminate unwanted and unsolicited telephone directories by requiring distributors of these directories to notify recipients of the option and means to decline delivery of these publications. This legislation would also require that, to the maximum extent practicable, the directories be printed on paper that is recyclable and contains not less than 30% post-consumer recycled fiber, use inks that contain no heavy metals or other toxic material and be bound with materials that pose no unreasonable barriers to recycling such directories.

Summary of provisions

Section 1 of this bill amends Article 27 of the Environmental Conserva- tion Law by adding a new title 29 entitled Telephone Directory Reduction and Recycling. This new title provides that every distributor of tele- phone directories to the general public shall ensure that, to the maxi- mum extent practicable, the directories be printed on paper that is recyclable and contains not less than 30% post-consumer recycled fiber, use inks that contain no heavy metals or other toxic materials, and be bound with materials that pose no unreasonable barriers to recycling such directories.

Section 2 of this bill amends section 336 of the general business law by adding a new subdivision 4 that requires distributors of all telephone directories to notify recipients of the option and means to decline delivery of these publications.

Justification

Despite their usefulness, telephone directories have become a signif- icant portion of the waste stream, estimated at 650,000 tons yearly in the US. The number of directories delivered to households and businesses has increased as publishers and distributors compete for attention.

Most households or businesses receive unsolicited multiple directories. These unwanted and unused publications are generating excessive and unnecessary waste.

The highest priority in the solid waste hierarchy is prevention or avoidance of waste generation. This bill should significantly reduce the number of telephone directories entering the waste stream by limiting delivery to only those who want them. The second highest priority in the solid waste hierarchy is waste recovery -- recovering phone books for reuse or recycling achieves that goal.

This legislation would also require that, to the maximum extent possi- ble, the directories be printed on paper that is recyclable and contains

not less than 30% post-consumer recycled fiber, use inks that contain no heavy metals or other toxic material and be bound with materials that pose no unreasonable barriers to recycling such directories.

A 2006 EPA study, Solid Waste Management and Greenhouse Gases, found that every ton of reduction of phone book generation eliminates GHG emissions of 1.72 metric tons of carbon equivalent (MTCE). Addi- tionally, for every ton of recovered material used in place of virgin material for the manufacturing of new phone books, GHG emissions are reduced by 0.72 MTCE.

Fiscal implications

None to the State

Effective date

This bill takes effect one year after it shall have become a law