Assemblymember Glick and Senator Harckham at the PRRIA press conference in March 2025
We are drowning in garbage. Previous solutions like landfills and incinerators are insufficient and awful for public and environmental health. We need to get smarter about how we deal with our packaging & plastic waste. This bill promotes innovation & saves taxpayers over $1B.
Albany, NY – More than 15 different environmental, civic and faith-based groups, plus several state legislators joined New York State Senator Pete Harckham and Assemblymember Deborah Glick at the State Capitol today to call for support of the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act (PRRIA).
Boosts recycling, supports municipalities and reduces waste, plastic, and toxins
Albany, NY – New York State Senator Pete Harckham announced today that the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act (PRRIA) has successfully advanced through the Senate’s Environmental Conservation Committee, which he chairs.
One of Michael E. White's prized possessions is a flag commemorating the first Earth Day in 1970.
More than a half-century later, the environmental lawyer has been selected by Stony Brook University to serve as interim director of its Waste Reduction and Management Institute. He is principal investigator overseeing a state-funded study of Long Island's municipal trash and recycling programs. The institute is using a $250,000 grant for the research.
West Babylon trash hauler Winters Bros. is dropping plans for a proposed Yaphank waste transfer station project that was seen by local officials as critical to managing Long Island's future trash removal needs but drew opposition from local residents and others, a company spokesman told Newsday on Friday.
Connecticut has made progress to protect its land, water and air over the last decade — but struggles to control greenhouse gas emissions that worsen climate change, according to the Connecticut Council on Environmental Quality. A report from the state watchdog blames the transportation sector for the emissions increase last year. The Council recommends a faster adoption of electric vehicles, less fuel consumption, and more use of public transit.
Highlights
· The final rule announced today by the EPA is stricter than the proposed rule published last year and stricter than the standard adopted by New York State in 2020.
· PFAS, known as “forever chemicals” are harmful substances linked to deadly cancers and other health impacts. They are prevalent in the environment from many sources.
· The federal agency also announced nearly $1 billion in newly available funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help communities comply with the rule.
· Public water suppliers will have five years to comply with the rule if they detect PFAS in their systems.
Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine at an environmental symposium on Wednesday, March 13 at Stony Brook University.
This year marks the beginning of the end for Brookhaven Landfill.
That is what spurred discussion among industry groups and environmental advocates at an environmental symposium on Wednesday, March 13 at Stony Brook University, seeking answers for the future of waste disposal on Long Island.
Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine said Wednesday he would convene a meeting of the county’s 10 towns to begin discussing plans for a regional solid waste program to prepare for the closure of the Brookhaven landfill.
Speaking at a Stony Brook University environmental symposium, Romaine warned the landfill closure, expected by early 2028, would have a ripple effect across Long Island as contractors and municipalities ship more waste to out-of-state landfills — boosting construction costs and taxes.
