Prohibits a manufacturer from labeling or advertising a nonwoven disposable product for sale as flushable without prior approval from the department of environmental conservation.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
4129--A
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 1, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. COLTON, GOTTFRIED, SIMON, STECK, COOK, ZEBROWSKI,
CONRAD, LAWLER -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. DILAN, ENGLEBRIGHT,
LUPARDO -- read once and referred to the Committee on Consumer Affairs
and Protection -- recommitted to the Committee on Consumer Affairs and
Protection in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee
discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
to said committee
AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to prohibiting a
manufacturer from labeling or advertising a nonwoven disposable prod-
uct for sale as a flushable without prior approval
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new section
2 391-w to read as follows:
3 § 391-w. Nonwoven disposable products. 1. For purposes of this
4 section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
5 (a) "Advertised" means representation made by statement, word, design,
6 device, sound or any combination thereof in print or broadcast media.
7 (b) "Flushable", "septic safe", and "sewer safe" means with regard to
8 a nonwoven disposable product, a product that is: (i) able to clear
9 toilets and properly maintained drainage pipe systems under expected
10 product usage conditions; (ii) compatible with wastewater conveyance,
11 treatment, reuse, and disposal systems without causing blockage, clog-
12 ging, or other operational problems; and (iii) unrecognizable in
13 effluent leaving on-site and municipal wastewater treatment systems and
14 in digested sludge from wastewater treatment plants that are applied to
15 soil.
16 (c) "Label" means those representations made through statement, word,
17 picture, design or emblem on a packaging of a nonwoven disposable prod-
18 uct.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05617-02-2
A. 4129--A 2
1 (d) "Nonwoven disposable product" means any product constructed from
2 nonwoven sheets that is designed for, marketed for, or commonly used for
3 personal hygiene purposes.
4 2. No nonwoven disposable product for sale in any municipality,
5 including a city with a population of a million or more, shall be adver-
6 tised, packaged or labeled as flushable, sewer safe, or septic safe if
7 such product has not first been approved as flushable by a third party
8 according to rules promulgated by the department of environmental
9 conservation.
10 3. Any person who violates this section shall be subject to a civil
11 penalty of not more than five thousand dollars for each violation. Such
12 penalties may be recovered in proceedings before a department of envi-
13 ronmental conservation enforcement hearing, through prosecution by the
14 bureau of consumer frauds and protection, or in any action in any court
15 of appropriate jurisdiction.
16 4. Nothing in this section shall apply to:
17 (a) a television or radio broadcasting station, or to any publisher of
18 a newspaper, magazine or other form of printed advertising, that broad-
19 casts, publishes or prints an advertisement that features a nonwoven
20 disposable product packaged or labeled as flushable, sewer safe, or
21 septic safe; or
22 (b) a wholesaler or retailer that distributes or sells but does not
23 package or label a nonwoven disposable product that is advertised, pack-
24 aged, or labeled as flushable, sewer safe or septic safe.
25 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
26 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or
27 repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of
28 this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed
29 on or before such effective date.