“The Affordable Waste Reduction Act ensures that businesses of all sizes, along with consumers, can play a role in reducing waste without facing exorbitant compliance costs.”
A supermarket in Inwood. (Photo by Adi Talwar)
New York for years has aimed to reduce packaging waste, and for good reason. A whole host of factors ranging from excess materials to outdated recycling infrastructure have resulted in packaging waste piling up in landfills and polluting our water.
Everyone recognizes this is a problem we need to solve. But previous attempts in the New York State Legislature to fix what’s broken have failed as they generated outrage from the hard-working families across New York who care about our environment, but who would have been forced to shoulder too great a burden. Thankfully, a new solution promises to change that.
In February, State Sen. Monica Martinez and Assemblymember Chantel Jackson introduced the Affordable Waste Reduction Act: a practical, effective path to achieving the state’s environmental goals while keeping costs manageable for working families and independent businesses alike. As owners of supermarkets on Long Island and across the five boroughs—and representatives of the National Supermarket Association, which serves independent grocers all across the state —we strongly support this legislation and urge lawmakers to pass it without delay.
For years, well-intentioned but flawed packaging reduction proposals have surfaced in Albany. They may promise to slash packaging waste, but they do so while threatening to drive up costs for consumers and force small businesses to navigate unrealistic mandates on even less realistic timelines.
What’s especially troubling is that many of our stores have a significant number of customers who participate in the SNAP program, and these misguided efforts would have an outsized impact on SNAP-eligible products and the families who rely on them. The Affordable Waste Reduction Act, by contrast, ensures that businesses of all sizes, along with consumers, can play a role in reducing waste without facing exorbitant compliance costs.
Our state needs smart, sustainable solutions—not policies that disproportionately harm those least able to afford them. New Yorkers are already struggling with the rising costs of groceries, housing, and everyday necessities. Independent supermarkets, many of which serve working-class and immigrant communities, are fighting to keep shelves stocked and workers employed amid ongoing supply chain challenges and inflationary pressures. An approach that shifts the financial burden of waste reduction onto businesses like ours, and by extension, our customers, is simply not viable.
The Affordable Waste Reduction Act offers a balanced approach by focusing on systemic improvements rather than punitive restrictions. One of the bill’s key provisions is its investment in upgrading recycling infrastructure across the state. New York’s current system—which can’t process most types of plastics, sending more waste to landfills and incinerators—is outdated, inefficient, and inadequate. This bill creates a new fund that will fuel public investment in infrastructure, ensuring that more packaging waste actually gets recycled, and creating jobs in the process.
Equally important, this legislation provides businesses with practical, achievable benchmarks for reducing waste. Unlike past proposals that would have effectively banned essential packaging materials without available alternatives, this bill takes a more reasonable approach, encouraging innovation and collaboration among manufacturers, retailers, and policymakers. It acknowledges the need for gradual adaptation rather than imposing abrupt, unrealistic mandates that could force businesses to discontinue popular products or pass exorbitant costs onto consumers.
New York has the opportunity to learn from other states that have successfully implemented similar policies. Minnesota’s recently enacted waste reduction law, which serves as a model for the Affordable Waste Reduction Act, garnered support from a broad coalition of environmental advocates, business leaders, and consumer groups.
That kind of consensus is rare in today’s political climate, and it speaks to the strength of this approach. We should follow Minnesota’s lead by enacting a law that fosters progress without imposing unnecessary economic strain.
Past legislative efforts to tackle packaging waste have repeatedly failed because they ignored the real challenges faced by consumers and small businesses. But the Affordable Waste Reduction Act succeeds where others fell short: it balances the urgent need to reduce packaging pollution with the economic realities of everyday New Yorkers. Lawmakers must recognize that meaningful environmental progress does not have to come at the expense of affordability and economic stability.
As local independent supermarkets, we care about our communities. While we are committed to sustainability, we also recognizing the need for practical, real-world solutions that work for our employees and our customers. We applaud and stand with the growing chorus of policymakers who understand that the path to a greener future must be paved with policies that consider the needs of all stakeholders.
The Affordable Waste Reduction Act represents a tremendous step in the right direction, and we urge lawmakers to seize this opportunity to enact real, lasting change for New York.
Jenny Jorge is the owner of Gala Fresh and Gala Foods on Long Island. Ivan Bueno is the owner of Marketplace in Brooklyn. Rafy Nunez is the owner of C-Town in the Bronx. Jorge Guillen is general manager at Cherry Valley Marketplace in Queens.
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