One of the New York bills that attracted plenty of lobbying against it this legislative session was the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act, also known as PRRIA.
Lobbying numbers for the recently passed session haven’t yet been calculated, but last year, various industries spent millions of dollars to quash the bill. Anecdotally, one advocate, believes this year’s spending against PRRIA will top last year’s.
“There was an avalanche of special interest opposition, and we were outgunned and outmaneuvered,” said Judith Enck, founder of Beyond Plastics and author of the new book “The Problem with Plastic.” “All we had were the facts on our side and hundreds of advocates all over the state contacting lawmakers.”
It wasn’t enough. Two days before the official end of session, state Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie told reporters there weren’t enough votes to pass the bill.
The interests spending against the bill included fossil fuel, chemical, and consumer brand companies like Amazon and McDonald’s.
“The physical presence of so many special interest lobbyists in the Assembly was striking,” Enck said.
Another blow to the effort is the retirement of the bill’s Assembly sponsor, Environmental Conservation Committee Chair Deborah Glick, who is retiring at the end of the year.
Enck called both Glick and state Sen. Pete Harckham, the Senate sponsor of PRRIA, “extraordinary” and bemoaned Glick’s pending retirement.
“She’s leaving big Birkenstocks to fill,” said Enck.