Bill Text: NY S03069 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Relates to polystyrene waste reduction; prohibits the use of polystyrene foam by contractors and lessees who deal with the state through state and municipal contracts.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION [S03069 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-S03069-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3069--B 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN SENATE February 1, 2019 ___________ Introduced by Sens. KRUEGER, BRESLIN, HOYLMAN, LIU, SEPULVEDA, SERRANO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Environmental Conservation -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee -- reported favorably from said committee and committed to the Committee on Finance -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to polystyrene waste reduction The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Article 27 of the environmental conservation law is 2 amended by adding a new title 30 to read as follows: 3 TITLE 30 4 POLYSTYRENE WASTE REDUCTION 5 Section 27-3001. Definitions. 6 27-3003. Prohibited disposable food service containers. 7 27-3005. Required compostable or recyclable disposable food 8 service containers. 9 27-3007. Powers of municipalities. 10 § 27-3001. Definitions. 11 For the purposes of this title, the following terms shall have the 12 following meanings: 13 1. "Affordable" means purchasable for not more than fifteen percent 14 more than the purchase cost of the non-compostable or non-recyclable 15 alternative. 16 2. "Agency" means any state department, agency, board, public benefit 17 corporation, public authority, or commission. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD01301-10-9S. 3069--B 2 1 3. "Compostable" means all the materials in the product or package 2 meet the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) International 3 Standard Specification for Compostable Plastics D6400, and will: (a) 4 undergo degradation by biological processes during composting in an 5 appropriate municipal or industrial composting facility to yield carbon 6 dioxide, water, inorganic compounds, and biomass at a rate consistent 7 with other known compostable materials in similar facilities; and (b) 8 leave no visible, distinguishable or toxic residue, including no adverse 9 impact on the ability of composts to support plant growth once the 10 finished compost is placed in soil. 11 4. "Contractors and lessees" mean any person or entity that has a 12 contract with an agency or a municipality for public works or improve- 13 ments to be performed, for a franchise, concession or lease of property, 14 for grant monies or goods and services or supplies to be purchased at 15 the expense of the agency or municipality or to be paid out of monies 16 deposited in the treasury or out of trust monies under the control or 17 collected by the agency or municipality. 18 5. "Disposable food service container"` means all containers, bowls, 19 plates, trays, cartons, cups, lids and other items that are designed or 20 generally recognized by the public as being designed for one-time use to 21 hold, contain, or transport foods, including without limitation, 22 containers for takeout foods and/or leftovers from partially consumed 23 meals prepared by retail food vendors. For the purpose of this title, 24 the term "disposable food service container" does not include containers 25 or other items that are used for the transportation, storage, or display 26 of raw eggs, or raw or uncooked butchered meats, fish, seafood, and/or 27 poultry sold from a butcher case or similar retail appliance. 28 6. "Home compostable" means all the materials in the product or pack- 29 age conform with the Vincotte OK Compost Home certification using the 30 European Norm 13432 standard, or a comparable standard as determined by 31 the department, and will: (a) undergo degradation by biological proc- 32 esses during composting in a home compost pile or device to yield carbon 33 dioxide, water, inorganic compounds, and biomass at a rate consistent 34 with other known compostable materials in similar facilities; and (b) 35 leave no visible, distinguishable or toxic residue, including no adverse 36 impact on the ability of composts to support plant growth once the 37 finished compost is placed in soil. 38 7. "Municipality" means a village, town, city, or county, or any 39 designated agency thereof. 40 8. "Polystyrene foam" means blown polystyrene and expanded and extrud- 41 ed foams that are thermoplastic petrochemical materials utilizing a 42 styrene monomer and processed by any number of techniques including, but 43 not limited to, fusion of polymer spheres, injection molding, foam mold- 44 ing, and extrusion-blown molding. Polystyrene foam is generally used to 45 make cups, bowls, plates, trays, clamshell containers, meat trays and 46 egg cartons. Such term shall not include rigid polystyrene. 47 9. "Recyclable" means material that can be sorted, cleansed and recon- 48 stituted using available recycling collection programs for the purpose 49 of using the altered form in the manufacture of a new product. Recycling 50 does not include burning, incinerating, converting, or otherwise ther- 51 mally destroying solid waste. 52 § 27-3003. Prohibited disposable food service containers. 53 1. Agencies, municipalities, and their contractors and lessees shall 54 not purchase, acquire, possess, sell, use, or offer for use disposable 55 food service containers that contain polystyrene foam.S. 3069--B 3 1 2. Nothing in this section shall be construed to govern the activities 2 of contractors and lessees that occur outside of the state or activities 3 of contractors and lessees that occur with entities other than agencies 4 and municipalities. 5 § 27-3005. Required compostable or recyclable disposable food service 6 containers. 7 All agencies, municipalities, and their contractors and lessees using 8 any disposable food service container shall use a compostable, home 9 compostable, or recyclable product, unless there is no affordable 10 compostable, home compostable or recyclable product available. Nothing 11 in this section shall be construed to govern the activities of contrac- 12 tors and lessees that occur outside of the state or activities of 13 contractors of lessees that occur with entities other than agencies or 14 municipalities. 15 § 27-3007. Powers of municipalities. 16 Any agency or municipality may promulgate regulations, ordinances, or 17 laws to take any and all reasonable actions necessary to implement and 18 enforce this title. 19 § 2. The department of environmental conservation shall conduct a 20 study on the desirability, feasibility and environmental impact of a 21 statewide prohibition on the use of disposable food service containers 22 that contain polystyrene foam. The department shall issue a report 23 containing the results of the study to the legislature no later than the 24 thirty-first of January next succeeding the date on which this act shall 25 have become a law. 26 § 3. Nothing in this title shall be construed to apply to public 27 school districts. 28 § 4. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after 29 it shall have become a law and shall apply to contracts executed or 30 extended on and after such date; provided, however, that section two of 31 this act shall take effect immediately.
