New York City has a significant waste management problem. Every day, New Yorkers generate about 44 million pounds (20 million kilograms) of trash for collection services.
On average, each New Yorker produces 5 pounds (2.2 kilograms) of waste per day, amounting to 15 million tons annually statewide.
Yet only 17% of the city’s waste is recycled. A large portion comes from unnecessary packaging—a problem expected to worsen as the delivery economy expands.
The cost of excessive packaging
Products bought in stores or online often arrive wrapped in layers of single-use plastic and cardboard. Consumers typically have little control over the amount of packaging used, yet they are left responsible for its disposal.
In addition to plastics, other waste streams include food scraps, garden debris, large appliances, chemicals, and hazardous materials. The sheer volume of trash has contributed to New York’s notorious rat problem—an estimated 3 million rats were present in 2023.
To address infestations, the city has introduced sealed, rodent-proof receptacles to help reduce vermin access.
While most packaging waste is either incinerated or buried in landfills, some ends up polluting the environment. Plastics can break down into microplastics, which contaminate food and water supplies and accumulate in the human body.
According to Inside Climate News, non-recycled waste is either burned in incinerators, releasing toxic chemicals into the air, or shipped to landfills in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, or upstate New York.
Landfills also emit methane gas, a potent greenhouse gas that is far more harmful than carbon dioxide, thereby worsening the climate crisis.
A law to slash packaging waste
To address these issues, lawmakers introduced the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act (PRRIA). On May 28, 2025, the New York State Senate passed this landmark legislation, championed by Senator Pete Harckham and Assemblymember Deborah Glick.
However, despite sufficient votes, the Assembly failed to pass the bill before the end of the 2025 session. Supporters remain optimistic that it will advance directly to the Assembly floor when legislators reconvene in January 2026.
The bill has drawn intense opposition from businesses, particularly in the petroleum and chemical sectors, who argue that its mandates are costly and unworkable.
According to Beyond Plastic’s, however, PRRIA represents a transformative shift that would dramatically reduce packaging waste and ease the financial burden on taxpayers by requiring companies—not consumers—to pay for packaging management. Key provisions include:
- Cutting plastic packaging by 30% over 12 years.
- Requiring a 75% recycling rate by 2052 for all packaging materials.
- Banning 17 toxic substances, including PFAS, PVC, lead, and mercury.
- Rejecting chemical recycling as a legitimate recycling method.
- Imposing modest fees on producers, with revenues benefiting local taxpayers.
- Establishing an Office of Inspector General to enforce compliance.
Public health and environmental urgency
Following the Assembly’s failure to pass the bill, Judith Enck, president of Beyond Plastics and former EPA regional administrator, criticized lawmakers for siding with corporations at the expense of public health and taxpayers.
Beyond Plastics also released a report projecting that PRRIA could save New Yorkers $1.3 billion in waste management costs over the next decade, not including revenue from producer fees.
Scientific research highlights the urgency of reform. A New England Journal of Medicine study links microplastic exposure to higher risks of heart attacks, strokes, and premature death.
At the same time, research from Columbia University shows that bottled water can contain hundreds of thousands of plastic particles.
Toward shared responsibility
New York’s waste crisis cannot be solved by consumers alone. While residents can help by reducing consumption and disposing of waste responsibly, corporations must be held accountable for packaging design and disposal costs.
The Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act offers a path forward—one that prioritizes environmental health, lowers costs for taxpayers, and protects future generations from the growing threat of microplastic pollution.
Sources:
Dalban, L. (2025, June 14). New York City Has a Trash Problem. A Packaging Reduction Bill Could Help. Inside Climate News. Retrieved from https://insideclimatenews.org/news/14062025/new-york-city-trash-problem-packaging-reduction-bill/
Two Years in a Row, New York State Assembly Fails to Pass Widely Popular Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act. (2025, June 18). Beyond Plastics. Retrieved from https://www.beyondplastics.org/press-releases/two-years-ny-assembly-fails-packaging-reduction
NYC’s Trash Revolution: Progress, Challenges and What’s Next. (2025, February 19). MetroStor. Retrieved from https://metrostor.us/nyc-trash-revolution-progress-challenges-whats-next/
Aronson, P. (2023, July 31). The Progress and Potential of Waste Reduction and Recycling in New York. NYLCV. Retrieved from https://nylcv.org/news/waste-reduction-progress-potential/
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