What's happening
This bill prohibits recyclable materials from being mixed with regular waste or disposed of in landfills and incinerators, and requires municipalities to adopt recycling separation laws.
Why it matters
Shifts accountability throughout the waste management chain. by making it illegal for transporters, transfer stations, landfills, and incinerators to knowingly mix or dispose of recyclables with regular waste, raising the level of due diligence required from all parties handling waste.
Mandates municipalities to adopt clear, enforceable recycling separation laws by a specific deadline. (July 1, 2019), ensuring universal standards across New York and removing any ambiguity about what materials must be recycled.
Expands the definition of recyclable materials. to include not just traditional items like paper, glass, and metals, but also plastics (#1 and #2), corrugated cardboard, mixed paper from larger buildings and businesses, and any other material for which recycling markets exist—potentially increasing the volume and variety of materials diverted from disposal.
Requires public input before municipalities add new recyclable materials to their programs,. ensuring that changes to recycling requirements take into account economic impacts, market demand for recyclables, and the practical burden on residents—potentially making recycling initiatives more effective and widely accepted.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Require Recycling, Ban Trash Mixing
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
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History
- Referred to environmental conservation
- Referred to environmental conservation
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
2039
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 11, 2017
Introduced by Sen. AVELLA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Environmental Conservation
AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law and the general municipal law, in relation to disposal and source separation of recyclable materials
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The environmental conservation law is amended by adding a new section 27-0709 to read as follows: § 27-0709. Disposal of source separated recyclables.
1. Definitions. For the purposes of this section:
a. "Incinerator" shall have the same meaning as provided in section 72-0401 of this chapter.
b. "Landfill" shall have the same meaning as provided in section 72-0401 of this chapter.
c. "Local recycling law" means a local law or ordinance adopted pursuant to the provisions of section one hundred twenty-aa of the general municipal law.
d. "Recyclable materials" means recyclable components of solid waste which have been separated from other solid waste as required by the local recycling law adopted pursuant to subdivision two of section one hundred twenty-aa of the general municipal law.
e. "Transfer station" means a solid waste management facility, whether owned or operated by a private or public entity, other than a recyclables handling and recovery facility, used oil facility, or a construction and demolition debris processing facility, where solid waste is received for the purpose of subsequent transfer to another solid waste management facility for processing, treating, disposal, recovery, or further transfer.
f. "Transporter" means any person or entity engaged in the off-site transportation of solid waste by air, rail, highway, or water.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01189-01-7
S. 2039 2
2. a. No transporter shall knowingly commingle materials with other solid waste or knowingly cause materials to be commingled with other solid waste if such materials are recyclable materials.
b. No transporter shall knowingly deliver materials that are recyclable materials to, or knowingly cause materials that are recyclable materials to be delivered to: (i) an incinerator; (ii) a landfill; (iii) a transfer station, unless such recyclable materials are kept separated from other solid waste; or (iv) anyone who the transporter knows or should know will either commingle such recyclable materials with other solid waste or deliver such recyclable materials to an incinerator or a landfill for disposal.
c. No operator of an incinerator or a landfill shall knowingly accept materials for disposal if such materials are recyclable materials.
d. No operator of a transfer station shall knowingly commingle materials with other solid waste or cause materials to be transferred to an incinerator or landfill for disposal if such materials are recyclable materials.
§ 2. Paragraphs b and c of subdivision 2 of section 120-aa of the general municipal law, as amended by chapter 70 of the laws of 1988, are amended to read as follows:
b. [For purposes of this section, "components" shall include paper, glass, metals, plastics, garden and yard waste, and may include other elements of solid waste.] No later than July first, two thousand nineteen, a municipality shall adopt a local law or ordinance to require that recyclable materials be separated from other solid waste which has been left for collection or which is delivered by the generator of such waste to a solid waste management facility. For purposes of this section, "recyclable materials" means and includes: (i) newsprint, glass containers, metal containers, polyethylene teraphthalate (#1 code) and high density polyethylene (#2 code) plastic containers; (ii) corrugated cardboard containers and paper board; (iii) mixed paper generated by non-residential entities or by residential buildings consisting of more than four dwellings; and (iv) any other recyclable, reusable or other materials for which the municipality determines that economic markets for alternate uses exist, or which the municipality determines should be separated from other solid waste for recycling.
c. Prior to [exercising the authority of this section to enact such a local law or ordinance] making a determination under subparagraph (iv) of paragraph b of this subdivision, the municipality shall hold a public hearing relating to its proposed provisions and shall give due consideration to existing source separation, recycling and [other resource recovery] solid waste disposal activities in the area, to the adequacy of markets for separated materials, and to any additional effort and expense to be incurred by residents in meeting the proposed separation requirements. The authority provided in this section shall be in addition to and without limitation upon the authority vested in municipalities under any other statute.
§ 3. Severability. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part of this act shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered.
§ 4. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it shall have become a law.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the environmental conservation law and the general municipal law, in relation to disposal and source separation of recyclable materials
Purpose or general idea of bill
This bill clarifies the obligations of waste haulers regarding the handling of recyclable materials and specifies the materials which are to be separated for recycling.
Summary of specific provisions
§ 1 of the bill adds a new section 27-0709 to the Environmental Conservation Law to prohibit private and municipal waste haulers from delivering recyclable materials to landfills or incinerators.
Read the full memo (667 words)
§2 of the bill amends paragraphs (b) and (c) of subdivision 2 of section 120-aa of the General Municipal Law to specify which materials must at a minimum be separated for recycling pursuant to a local recycling law.
§ 3 of the bill contains a severability clause.
Effects of present law which this bill would alter
Pursuant to General Municipal Law § 120-aa, every municipality must enact a local law requiring the separation of recyclable materials as defined in subdivision 2(b). This bill would close the existing markets loophole contained in the current provision.
Justification
This bill will encourage and enhance statewide recycling efforts and compliance by private citizens, local governments and waste haulers, thereby preserving natural resources, improving air and water quality, and extending the life of the few remaining disposal facilities in New York State.
New York State has come a long way since 1985 in statewide recycling practices. 20 years of experience has allowed the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and Empire State Development (ESD) to easily identify materials that are common to most programs in the state and that have had consistently viable markets.
The state is using its purchasing power to expand the demand for products that contain recycled content. Governor Mario Cuomo's Administration issued Executive Order 142 in 1991, which declared that it shall be NYS policy to practice source separation at all of its agencies and to promote the practice of purchasing recycled products to ensure that a market exists. Just recently, the Paterson Administration issued Executive Order 4, which requires OGS to develop a comprehensive Been purchasing program. Governor Andrew Cuomo has vowed to continue this initiative in his administration.
After the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) was established in 1993, ESD created the Environmental Investment Program (EIP). Since its establishment EIP has created:
>New capacity to recycle 3.3 million tons/year of secondary materials >Created or retained 4,800 jobs >Created a recurring economic benefit estimated at 5279.63 million per year
While progress has been made in expanding recycling capacity and developing .secondary materials markets, nearly 65% of the total state managed materials and about 80% of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), ends up in land- fills, even though land filling is statutorily the last resort. The combination of recycling loopholes, planned obsolescence, the growth of convenience products, and the advance of technology, has stalled progress toward an absolute reduction of generated waste.
This bill would close the "existing market" loophole which has allowed transporters to justify diverting recyclable materials to landfills or incinerators. It also specifies materials required for separation, but does not limit a municipality from including other items that they can find a market for.
The "existing market" clause has proven to be cumbersome in practice, creating confusion and potentially undermining the value of recycled materials because a reliable supply of material is critical to justifying private capital investment in secondary materials markets. Most programs have continuously collected the same materials for much of the past two decades despite periodic dips in market values.
Prior legislative history
This bill was first introduced as an Attorney General Program Bill in 2000. It has been introduced in each session since the initial introduction, with passage in the Assembly nine times. 2013-14: A.3754-A/Passed; S.719-B/EnCon 2012: A.1241-A/Passed; S.3029- A/Encon 2011: A.1241/Passed; S.3029/Encon 2010: A.1319/Passed; S.7130/Encon 2009: A.1319/Passed; S.7130/Encon
Fiscal implications
None
Effective date
This bill takes effect 180 days after enactment.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.