Bill Text: NY A01547 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Enacts the "food service waste reduction act"; provides for a prohibition on the use of certain disposable food service ware; provides definitions and sanctions.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 19-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - referred to environmental conservation [A01547 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A01547-Introduced.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          1547
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                    January 15, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by M. of A. ORTIZ -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Environmental Conservation
        AN ACT to amend the  environmental  conservation  law,  in  relation  to
          prohibiting the use of certain food packaging and plastic food service
          ware
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as
     2  the "food service waste reduction act".
     3    §  2.  Article  27 of the environmental conservation law is amended by
     4  adding a new title 22 to read as follows:
     5                                  TITLE 22
     6                         FOOD SERVICE WASTE REDUCTION
     7  Section 27-2201. Definitions.
     8          27-2203. Prohibited disposable food service ware.
     9          27-2205. Required  compostable  or  recyclable  disposable  food
    10                     service ware.
    11          27-2207. Powers of municipalities.
    12  § 27-2201. Definitions.
    13    1.  "Affordable"  means  purchasable for not more than fifteen percent
    14  more than the purchase cost of the non-biodegradable non-compostable  or
    15  non-recyclable alternative.
    16    2. "ASTM standard" means meeting the standards of the American Society
    17  for  Testing and Materials (ASTM) International standards D6400 or D6868
    18  for biodegradable and compostable plastics as  those  standards  may  be
    19  amended.
    20    3.  "Compostable"  means  all  the materials in the product or package
    21  will break down into, or otherwise become part of usable compost  (e.g.,
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD05848-01-9

        A. 1547                             2
     1  soil-conditioning  material,  mulch)  in  a safe and timely manner in an
     2  appropriate composting program or  facility or in a home compost pile or
     3  device. Compostable disposable food service ware  includes,  by  way  of
     4  example,  ASTM  standard  bio-plastics  (plastic-like products) that are
     5  clearly labeled, preferably with a color symbol, such that  any  compost
     6  collector  and  processor  can  easily  distinguish  the  ASTM  standard
     7  compostable plastic from non-ASTM standard compostable plastic. For  the
     8  purposes  of this title the term biodegradable shall have the same mean-
     9  ing as compostable. This title uses the terms biodegradable and compost-
    10  able interchangeably and in all cases whether the terms are  used  sepa-
    11  rately,  in  the  disjunctive or in the conjunctive they shall always be
    12  interpreted and applied consistent with  this  definition  of  the  term
    13  "compostable".
    14    4. "Municipal contractors and lessees" means any person or entity that
    15  has a contract with the municipality for public works or improvements to
    16  be  performed,  for  a  franchise,  concession or lease of property, for
    17  grant monies or goods and services or supplies to be  purchased  at  the
    18  expense of the municipality or to be paid out of monies deposited in the
    19  treasury  or  out  of trust monies under the control or collected by the
    20  municipality.
    21    5. "Municipal facility" means any building, structure or vehicle owned
    22  or operated by the municipality.
    23    6. "Municipal facility food provider" means an entity  that  provides,
    24  but does not sell, prepared food in municipal facilities.
    25    7. "Disposable food service ware" means all containers, bowls, plates,
    26  trays,  cartons,  cups, lids, straws, forks, spoons, knives, napkins and
    27  other items that are designed  for  one-time  use  for  prepared  foods,
    28  including  without  limitation,  service  ware  for takeout foods and/or
    29  leftovers from partially consumed meals prepared by  food  vendors.  The
    30  term  "disposable  food  service  ware"  does not include items composed
    31  entirely of aluminum or polystyrene foam coolers and ice chests that are
    32  intended for reuse nor does this term include  recyclable  food  service
    33  ware.
    34    8. "Food vendor" means any restaurant or retail food vendor located or
    35  operating within the municipality.
    36    9.  "Municipality"  means  the same as such term is defined in section
    37  27-0501 of this article.
    38    10. "Person" means an individual, trust, firm,  joint  stock  company,
    39  corporation, including a government corporation, partnership, or associ-
    40  ation.
    41    11.  "Polystyrene  foam"  means  blown  polystyrene and expanded foams
    42  utilizing a styrene monomer and processed by any number  of  techniques.
    43  Polystyrene  foam  is generally used to make cups, bowls, plates, trays,
    44  clamshell containers, meat trays and egg cartons.
    45    12. "Prepared food" means food or beverages, which are serviced, pack-
    46  aged, cooked, chopped, sliced, mixed, brewed, frozen, squeezed or other-
    47  wise prepared (collectively  "prepared")  for  individual  customers  or
    48  consumers. For the purpose of this title, prepared food includes takeout
    49  food,  but  does  not  include raw, butchered meats, fish and/or poultry
    50  sold from a butcher case or similar retail appliance.
    51    13. "Recyclable" means material  that  can  be  sorted,  cleansed  and
    52  reconstituted  using  available  recycling  collection  programs for the
    53  purpose of using the altered form in the manufacture of a  new  product.
    54  Recycling  does not include burning, incinerating, converting, or other-
    55  wise thermally destroying solid waste.

        A. 1547                             3
     1    14. "Restaurant" means any establishment located within a municipality
     2  that sells prepared food for consumption on, near, or off its  premises.
     3  For  purposes  of  this  title, the term includes a restaurant operating
     4  from a temporary facility, cart, vehicle or mobile unit.
     5    15. "Retail food vendor" means any store, shop, sales outlet, or other
     6  establishment,  including  a  grocery store, delicatessen or restaurant,
     7  located within the municipality that sells prepared food.
     8  § 27-2203. Prohibited disposable food service ware.
     9    1. Retail food vendors shall not sell prepared food in disposable food
    10  service ware that contains polystyrene foam.
    11    2. Municipal facility food providers shall not provide  prepared  food
    12  in disposable food service ware that contains polystyrene foam.
    13    3. Municipal departments shall not purchase, acquire or use disposable
    14  food service ware that contains polystyrene foam.
    15    4.  Municipal  contractors  and  lessees shall not use disposable food
    16  service ware that contains polystyrene foam in municipal facilities  and
    17  while performing under a municipal contract or lease.
    18  §  27-2205. Required  compostable  or recyclable disposable food service
    19                ware.
    20    1. All food vendors using any disposable food service ware shall use a
    21  suitable  affordable  alternative  compostable  or  recyclable  product,
    22  unless there is no suitable affordable compostable or recyclable product
    23  available  as  determined  by  the  municipality in accordance with this
    24  subdivision. Not later than thirty days before  the  effective  date  of
    25  this  title,  the  commissioner shall adopt a list of available suitable
    26  affordable compostable or recyclable alternatives for each product type.
    27  The municipality shall regularly update the list.
    28    2. All municipal facility food  providers  and  municipal  departments
    29  using any disposable food service ware shall use compostable or recycla-
    30  ble disposable food service ware unless there is no affordable composta-
    31  ble or recyclable product available as determined by the municipality in
    32  accordance with subdivision one of section 27-2203 of this title.
    33    3. Municipal contractors and lessees using any disposable food service
    34  ware shall use compostable or recyclable disposable food service ware in
    35  municipal  facilities and while performing under a municipal contract or
    36  lease unless there is no affordable compostable  or  recyclable  product
    37  available  as determined by the municipality in accordance with subdivi-
    38  sion one of section 27-2203 of this title.
    39  § 27-2207. Powers of municipalities.
    40    1.  Any municipality may promulgate regulations, ordinances,  or  laws
    41  to  take any and all other reasonable actions necessary to implement and
    42  enforce this title.
    43    2. Any person may seek a  waiver  from  the  requirements  of  section
    44  27-2205  of  this  title  by  filing a request on a form provided by the
    45  municipality. The municipality may, consistent with  this  title,  waive
    46  any specific requirement of this title for a period of up to one year if
    47  the  person  seeking the waiver has demonstrated that strict application
    48  of the requirement would create an undue hardship or practical difficul-
    49  ty not generally applicable to other persons in  similar  circumstances.
    50  The  municipality's  decision to grant or deny such a waiver shall be in
    51  writing and shall be final.
    52    3.  All municipal contracts and leases, including without  limitation,
    53  contracts  with  municipal  facility  food  providers, shall contain the
    54  following minimum language: "Contractor agrees to comply fully with  and
    55  be  bound  by  all of the provisions of the food service waste reduction
    56  act, as provided in title 22 of article 27 of the environmental  conser-

        A. 1547                             4
     1  vation law, including the remedies provided, and implementing guidelines
     2  and  rules. The provisions of such law are incorporated herein by refer-
     3  ence and made a part of this agreement as though fully set  forth.  This
     4  provision  is  a  material term of this agreement. By entering into this
     5  agreement, contractor agrees that if it breaches this provision, munici-
     6  pality will suffer actual damages that will be impractical or  extremely
     7  difficult  to  determine; further, contractor agrees that the sum of one
     8  hundred dollars ($100.00) liquidated damages for the first  breach,  two
     9  hundred  dollars  ($200.00)  liquidated damages for the second breach in
    10  the same year, and five hundred dollars ($500.00) liquidated damages for
    11  subsequent breaches in the same year is a  reasonable  estimate  of  the
    12  damage  that municipality will incur based on the violation, established
    13  in light of the circumstances existing at the time  this  agreement  was
    14  made.  Such amounts shall not be considered a penalty, but rather agreed
    15  monetary damages sustained by municipality because of contractor's fail-
    16  ure to comply with this provision."
    17    § 3. The environmental conservation law is amended  by  adding  a  new
    18  section 71-2730 to read as follows:
    19  § 71-2730. Enforcement of sections 27-2203 and 27-2205.
    20    1.  The  municipality  shall issue a written warning to any person the
    21  municipality determines is violating section 27-2203 or 27-2205 of  this
    22  chapter.  If after issuing a written warning of violation from the muni-
    23  cipality, the municipality finds that person continues  to  violate  the
    24  provisions  of  section  27-2203 or 27-2205 of this chapter, the munici-
    25  pality may impose the various sanctions provided in this section.
    26    2. Any person who  violates  the  provisions  of  section  27-2203  or
    27  27-2205  of this chapter shall be guilty of a violation. If charged as a
    28  violation, upon conviction thereof, such person shall  be  punished  for
    29  the  first  offense by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars for a
    30  first violation;  not  more  than  two  hundred  dollars  for  a  second
    31  violation  in  the same year and not more than two hundred fifty dollars
    32  for each subsequent violation in the same year.
    33    3. The municipality may issue an administrative civil liability  cita-
    34  tion  to  such person in an amount not exceeding one hundred dollars for
    35  the first violation, an amount not exceeding two hundred dollars for the
    36  second violation, and not more than two hundred fifty dollars  for  each
    37  subsequent violation against the same person.
    38    §  4.  This act shall take effect on the three hundred sixty-fifth day
    39  after it shall have become a law.
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