A05398 Summary:

BILL NOA05398B
 
SAME ASSAME AS S03068-B
 
SPONSOROrtiz
 
COSPNSRZebrowski, Fall, Abinanti, Glick, Colton, Dinowitz, Griffin, Epstein, Gottfried, Taylor, D'Urso, Cruz, Steck, Paulin
 
MLTSPNSRSayegh
 
Add Art 27 Title 20 §§27-2001 - 27-2007, §71-2730, En Con L
 
Prohibits polystyrene waste.
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A05398 Actions:

BILL NOA05398B
 
02/11/2019referred to environmental conservation
05/13/2019amend (t) and recommit to environmental conservation
05/13/2019print number 5398a
10/23/2019amend and recommit to environmental conservation
10/23/2019print number 5398b
01/08/2020referred to environmental conservation
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A05398 Committee Votes:

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A05398 Floor Votes:

There are no votes for this bill in this legislative session.
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A05398 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         5398--B
 
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                    February 11, 2019
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by M. of A. ORTIZ, ZEBROWSKI, FALL, ABINANTI, GLICK, COLTON,
          DINOWITZ, GRIFFIN, EPSTEIN, GOTTFRIED, TAYLOR, D'URSO, CRUZ, STECK  --
          Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. SAYEGH -- read once and referred to the
          Committee  on Environmental Conservation -- committee discharged, bill
          amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said  commit-
          tee  --  again  reported  from said committee with amendments, ordered
          reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
 
        AN ACT to amend the  environmental  conservation  law,  in  relation  to
          prohibiting polystyrene waste
 
          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 "polystyrene waste reduction act".
     3    §  2.  Article  27 of the environmental conservation law is amended by
     4  adding a new title 20 to read as follows:
     5                                  TITLE 20
     6                         POLYSTYRENE WASTE REDUCTION
     7  Section 27-2001. Definitions.
     8          27-2003. Prohibited disposable food service containers.
     9          27-2005. Required  compostable  or  recyclable  disposable  food
    10                     service containers.
    11          27-2007. Unique packaging or financial hardship waiver.
    12  § 27-2001. Definitions.
    13    As used in this title:
    14    1.  "Affordable"  means  purchasable for not more than fifteen percent
    15  more than the purchase cost of  the  non-compostable  or  non-recyclable
    16  alternative.
    17    2.  "Agency" means any state department, agency, board, public benefit
    18  corporation, public authority, or commission.
    19    3. "Agency or municipal facility" means  any  building,  structure  or
    20  vehicle owned or operated by the agency or municipality.
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00006-09-9

        A. 5398--B                          2
 
     1    4.  "Agency  or municipal contractors and lessees" means any person or
     2  entity that has a contract with an agency or a municipality  for  public
     3  works  or  improvements  to be performed, for a franchise, concession or
     4  lease of property, for grant monies or goods and services or supplies to
     5  be  purchased at the expense of the agency or municipality or to be paid
     6  out of monies deposited in the treasury or out of trust monies under the
     7  control or collected by the agency or municipality.
     8    5. "Agency or municipal facility food provider" means an  entity  that
     9  provides, but does not sell, prepared food in agency or municipal facil-
    10  ities.
    11    6.  "Chain retail food vendor" means a retail food vendor with five or
    12  more locations that conduct business under the  same  business  name  or
    13  operate  under common ownership or management or pursuant to a franchise
    14  agreement with the same franchisor.
    15    7. "Compostable" means all the materials in  the  product  or  package
    16  meet the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) International
    17  Standard Specification for Compostable Plastics D6400, and will:
    18    (a)  undergo  degradation by biological processes during composting in
    19  an appropriate municipal or  industrial  composting  facility  to  yield
    20  carbon  dioxide,  water,  inorganic  compounds,  and  biomass  at a rate
    21  consistent with other known compostable materials in similar facilities;
    22  and
    23    (b) leave no visible, distinguishable or toxic residue,  including  no
    24  adverse  impact  on the ability of composts to support plant growth once
    25  the finished compost is placed in soil.
    26    8. "Home compostable" means all the materials in the product or  pack-
    27  age  conform  with  the Vincotte OK Compost Home certification using the
    28  European Norm 13432 standard, or a comparable standard as determined  by
    29  the department, and will:
    30    (a) undergo degradation by biological processes during composting in a
    31  home  compost  pile  or device to yield carbon dioxide, water, inorganic
    32  compounds, and biomass at a rate consistent with other known compostable
    33  materials in similar facilities; and
    34    (b) leave no visible, distinguishable or toxic residue,  including  no
    35  adverse  impact  on the ability of composts to support plant growth once
    36  the finished compost is placed in soil.
    37    9. "Disposable food service containers" means all  containers,  bowls,
    38  plates,  trays, cartons, cups, lids and other items that are designed or
    39  generally recognized by the public as being designed for one-time use to
    40  hold,  contain,  or  transport  foods,  including  without   limitation,
    41  containers  for  takeout  foods and/or leftovers from partially consumed
    42  meals prepared by retail food vendors.  For the purposes of this  title,
    43  the term "disposable food service container" does not include containers
    44  or other items that are used for the transportation, storage, or display
    45  of  raw  eggs,  or  raw  uncooked butchered meats, fish, seafood, and/or
    46  poultry sold from a butcher case or similar retail appliance.
    47    10. "Municipality" means a village, town,  city,  or  county,  or  any
    48  designated agency thereof.
    49    11.  "Polystyrene  foam"  means  blown  polystyrene  and  expanded and
    50  extruded foams that are thermoplastic petrochemical materials  utilizing
    51  a  styrene  monomer and processed by any number of techniques including,
    52  but not limited to, fusion of polymer spheres, injection  molding,  foam
    53  molding,  and  extrusion-blown  molding.   Polystyrene foam is generally
    54  used to make cups, bowls,  plates,  trays,  clamshell  containers,  meat
    55  trays and egg cartons. Such term shall not include rigid polystyrene.

        A. 5398--B                          3
 
     1    12. "Prepared food" means food or beverages, which are serviced, pack-
     2  aged, cooked, chopped, sliced, mixed, brewed, frozen, squeezed or other-
     3  wise  prepared  (collectively  "prepared")  for  individual customers or
     4  consumers. For the purposes of this title, prepared food includes  take-
     5  out food, but does not include raw, butchered meats, pork, fish, seafood
     6  and/or poultry sold from a butcher case or similar retail appliance.
     7    13.  "Recyclable"  means  material  that  can  be sorted, cleansed and
     8  reconstituted using available  recycling  collection  programs  for  the
     9  purpose  of  using the altered form in the manufacture of a new product.
    10  Recycling does not include burning, incinerating, converting, or  other-
    11  wise thermally destroying solid waste.
    12    14.  "Restaurant" means any establishment that sells prepared food for
    13  consumption on, near, or off its premises. For purposes of  this  title,
    14  the  term  includes  a  restaurant  operating from a temporary facility,
    15  cart, vehicle or mobile unit.
    16    15. "Retail food vendor" means any store, shop, sales outlet, or other
    17  establishment, including a grocery  store,  delicatessen  or  restaurant
    18  that sells prepared food.
    19  § 27-2003. Prohibited disposable food service containers.
    20    1.  Retail  food  vendors  shall  not  possess, sell, or offer for use
    21  disposable food service containers that contain polystyrene foam.   This
    22  subdivision  shall  not  apply  to  polystyrene foam containers used for
    23  prepackaged food that have been filled and sealed prior  to  receipt  by
    24  the retail food vendors.
    25    2.  Agency  or  municipal  facility  food providers shall not possess,
    26  sell, or offer for use disposable food service containers  that  contain
    27  polystyrene foam.
    28    3.  Agencies  and  municipalities  shall  not purchase, acquire or use
    29  disposable food service containers that contain polystyrene foam.
    30    4. Agency or municipal contractors  and  lessees  shall  not  possess,
    31  sell,  or  offer for use disposable food service containers that contain
    32  polystyrene foam in agency or municipal facilities or  while  performing
    33  under an agency or municipal contract or lease.
    34    5. Nothing in this section shall be construed to govern the activities
    35  of contractors and lessees that occur outside of the state or activities
    36  of  contractors and lessees that occur with entities other than agencies
    37  or municipalities.
    38  § 27-2005. Required compostable or recyclable  disposable  food  service
    39               containers.
    40    1.  All  retail  food  vendors,  agencies,  municipalities, agency and
    41  municipal facility food providers, and municipal contractors and lessees
    42  operating in  municipal  facilities  or  performing  under  a  municipal
    43  contract or lease using any disposable food service containers shall use
    44  a suitable affordable compostable, home compostable, or recyclable prod-
    45  uct,  unless there is no suitable affordable compostable, home composta-
    46  ble, or recyclable product available as  determined  by  the  department
    47  pursuant to a waiver in accordance with section 27-2007 of this title.
    48    2. Nothing in this section shall be construed to govern the activities
    49  of contractors and lessees that occur outside of the state or activities
    50  of  contractors and lessees that occur with entities other than agencies
    51  or municipalities.
    52  § 27-2007. Unique packaging or financial hardship waiver.
    53    1. Any not-for-profit corporation, regardless of its income,  and  any
    54  retail  food  vendor that had a gross income under five hundred thousand
    55  dollars per location on their annual income  tax  filing  for  the  most
    56  recent  tax  year  and  is  not  part  of a chain retail food vendor may

        A. 5398--B                          4
 
     1  request from the department, in a manner and  form  established  by  the
     2  department,  a  unique  packaging  or  financial  hardship waiver of the
     3  requirements of this title. Such waiver request may apply to one or more
     4  types  of disposable food service containers possessed, sold, or offered
     5  for use by any such not-for-profit corporation or retail food vendor.
     6    2. The department shall  grant  such  waiver  if  such  not-for-profit
     7  corporation or retail food vendor proves:
     8    (a)  that  no reasonably feasible alternative exists to a specific and
     9  necessary type of polystyrene foam disposable food service container; or
    10    (b) that there is no comparable, affordable  disposable  food  service
    11  container  not composed of polystyrene foam and that the purchase or use
    12  of an alternative disposable food  service  container  not  composed  of
    13  polystyrene foam would create an undue financial hardship; or
    14    (c)  that  there is no suitable affordable compostable, home composta-
    15  ble, or recyclable product available as an alternative to  any  type  of
    16  disposable food service container.
    17    3.  Such  unique packaging or financial hardship waiver shall be valid
    18  for twelve months and shall be renewable upon application to the depart-
    19  ment. A pending application for such waiver shall be a  defense  to  any
    20  notice  of violation issued pursuant to this title to which such pending
    21  application relates and such notice of violation shall be dismissed.
    22    § 3. The environmental conservation law is amended  by  adding  a  new
    23  section 71-2730 to read as follows:
    24  § 71-2730. Enforcement of sections 27-2003 and 27-2005 of this chapter.
    25    1.  Any  person  who  shall violate section 27-2003 or 27-2005 of this
    26  chapter shall receive a warning notice for the first such  violation.  A
    27  person  shall  be liable to the state of New York for a civil penalty of
    28  not more than two hundred fifty dollars for the  first  violation  after
    29  receiving  a  warning, not more than five hundred dollars for the second
    30  violation in the same calendar year, and  not  more  than  one  thousand
    31  dollars for each subsequent violation in the same calendar year. For the
    32  purposes  of  this section, each commercial transaction shall constitute
    33  no more than one violation. A hearing or opportunity to be  heard  shall
    34  be provided prior to the assessment of any civil penalty.
    35    2.  (a) The department, the department of agriculture and markets, the
    36  department of health, and the attorney general are hereby authorized  to
    37  enforce the provisions of sections 27-2003 and 27-2005 of this chapter.
    38    (b)  The  provisions of section 27-2003 or 27-2005 of this chapter may
    39  also be enforced by a village, town,  city,  or  county  and  the  local
    40  legislative body thereof may adopt local laws, ordinances or regulations
    41  consistent  with  this  title  providing  for  the  enforcement  of such
    42  provisions.
    43    3. Any fines that are collected by the state during proceedings by the
    44  state to enforce the provisions of section 27-2003 or  27-2005  of  this
    45  chapter shall be retained by the state.  Any fines that are collected by
    46  a  municipality  during  proceedings by the municipality to enforce such
    47  provisions within the municipality shall  be  retained  by  the  munici-
    48  pality.
    49    §  4.  This act shall take effect on the three hundred sixty-fifth day
    50  after it shall have become a law. This act shall apply  only  to  agency
    51  and  municipal  contracts executed or extended on or after the effective
    52  date.  Effective immediately the addition, amendment  and/or  repeal  of
    53  any  rule  or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on
    54  its effective date are authorized to be made and completed on or  before
    55  such date.
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