Our Future is Blowing in the Wind

Join us for the next installment in our series of educational forums on offshore wind:

“Advancing Wind & Protecting Wildlife” 

Join Citizens Campaign for the Environment & New York League of Conservation Voters to learn more about how advancing offshore wind and protecting wildlife can be achieved. In 2019, NY passed the nation’s most aggressive climate law, which mandates 70% renewable energy by 2030 and 9,000MW of offshore wind by 2035. To meet these ambitious goals, New York is moving forward with several critically needed wind farms off the coast of Long Island. In this forum, expert panelists will discuss impacts to marine mammals and fish species, potential “reef effects,” and more. Participants will also have the opportunity to ask the expert panelists questions.

Topic: Advancing Wind & Protecting Wildlife
Date:  Wednesday, April 21, 2021
Time: 7:00pm -8:30pm 

Register here (after registering, you will receive a zoom link to participate)

Expert Presenters:

Dr. Howard Rosenbaum is a Senior Conservation Scientist and Director of the Wildlife Conservation Society's (WCS) Ocean Giants Program, which aims to secure the future of whales, dolphins, and other marine species. For more than 30 years, Dr. Rosenbaum's innovative science has helped protect marine species from current and emerging threats in their most important habitats. In the NY Bight, Rosenbaum leads WCS’s efforts for research and conservation of marine mammals, which includes a collaborative effort to use state-of-the-art near real-time acoustic monitoring and other technologies to study whales and ocean noise.  

Dr. Drew Carey is the Chief Executive Officer for Inspire Environmental. Dr. Carey was a leader on the many of the studies regarding marine life and the Block Island Wind Project. He has published papers on potential impacts to fish and the benthic region, key lessons learned for biological monitoring, and the “reef effect” of the turbine foundations. 

Catherine Bowes is the Program Director for Offshore Wind Energy for the National Wildlife Federation. The National Wildlife Federation, America's largest conservation organization, works across the country to unite Americans from all walks of life in giving wildlife a voice. They have been on the front lines for wildlife since 1936.

Thank you for joining us!

Sincerely,
Your Friends at CCE

Highlights and Happenings: February 2021

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Help CCE build on our success and support our campaigns to protect public health and the environment in NY and CT. Make a contribution today.

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Highlights

Image by brisch27 from Pixabay

Fighting for our NY Budget Priorities 

We were thrilled to see several of our environmental priorities front and center in the executive budget proposal released by the Governor in January. In February, we lobbied our Assembly and Senate leaders to ensure that our priorities make it into the final budget (due April 1), including (but not limited to): 

• $500 million for clean water infrastructure: upgrades aging wastewater and drinking water infrastructure and protects water at its source.

• $300 million Environmental Protection Fund (EPF): funds programs in every part of the state to protect clean water, healthy communities, open space, and so much more.

• Manufacturer-funded (not taxpayer-funded) recycling of consumer packaging and paper: this policy would help reduce waste, increase recycling, create jobs, and save taxpayers money.

• $ 3 billion Clean Water and Jobs Environmental Bond Act: This historic investment would (if adopted in the budget and subsequently approved by the voters in November) protect communities from the impacts of climate change while protecting clean water and supporting green jobs.
  

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Happenings

Supporting Long Island Offshore Wind 

Long Island is becoming a national leader in offshore wind, with five wind farms now in the siting process. Some exciting developments on these projects is happening, but our work is far from over. On the federal level, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management released a draft Environmental Impact Statement on the South Fork Wind Farm and held a series of virtual meetings in February. Thanks to our Wind Works Long Island coalition partners who also participated in the meetings and submitted supportive comments on NY’s first offshore wind farm. To learn more about the South Fork Wind Farm DEIS or project in general, you can read the comments we submitted, along with our coalition members’ comments here. 

Image by SatyaPrem from Pixabay

Working to Modernize Connecticut’s Bottle Bill 

One of our top priorities in Connecticut is improving and modernizing the Bottle Bill. The law, which puts deposits on beverage containers, has been one of the most successful environmental laws in the state, but it needs to be updated. In February, we testified before the Connecticut General Assembly about the cost impacts to municipalities and the equity challenges under the current Bottle Bill program, as well as the challenges related to glass in the curbside recycling stream. According to Housatonic Resources Recovery Authority, wine and liquor account for approximately 60% of glass going into the blue bin! We need to establish a deposit on glass, wine, and liquor bottles here in CT. 

Clean Water Forum for NYS Legislators 

In February, we hosted our 3rd annual Clean Water Forum for elected officials, legislative staff, state agencies, and Clean Water Coalition members to discuss our clean water priorities for this year. Thanks to the over 70 people who attended the virtual Clean Water Forum and to our experts who provided presentations and answered questions on critical water quality issues and solutions for 2021. Priorities included, but were not limited to, investing in upgrades to wastewater infrastructure, installing treatment technology to remove emerging contaminants from drinking water, and protecting our water resources at its source. 

The Future is Blowing in the Wind—Long Islands Offshore Wind Projects 

In the second installment of CCE’s series of educational forums on offshore wind, offshore wind developers Orsted and Equinor discussed the offshore wind projects they are building off Long Island. The combined projects will power more than 2.4 million homes and bring us almost halfway to New York’s goal of 9,000 MW of offshore wind. Over 100 people joined in after the presentations, and Orsted and Equinor representatives answered questions from members of the public. You can watch a recording of the webinar here! 

Combatting PFAS Contamination 

Last month, we stood with U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Nassau County Executive Laura Curran to call for federal action banning toxic PFAS chemicals from firefighting foam. Senator Gillibrand has introduced legislation that would also provide resources to fire departments to switch to safer chemicals. We will continue fighting for this critical legislation, which protects fire fighters, our water, and public health. 

New Yorkers for Clean Water & Jobs Lobby Day 

We joined members of the New Yorkers for Clean Water & Jobs for a virtual lobby day in February. The coalition met with NYS Senate and Assembly members to advocate for our budget priorities, including clean water infrastructure funding, maintaining a fully funded Environmental Protection Fund, supporting New York parks, and to preventing further raids of revenue generated from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. 

Transforming New York’s Transportation System 

The New York Climate Action Council’s Transportation Advisory Panel hosted a virtual public meeting to provide information on proposed policy strategies to achieve New York’s greenhouse gas reduction targets. We provided comments urging the Panel to include the Transportation Climate Initiative (TCI) program in their recommendation. TCI is an opportunity for New York to join with other Northeast/MidAtlantic states to bolster the clean transportation economy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by advancing clean vehicles and fuels, safe and affordable public transportation, equitable options of disadvantaged communities, complete streets safe for walking and biking, and much more! 

New Studies Help Advance LI Water Protection and Support CCE’s Work on 1,4 Dioxane 

Dr. Chris Gobler at the Stony Brook University Center for Clean Water Technology released two important studies last month. One study advances new technology to remove nitrogen and 1,4- dioxane entering groundwater through septic systems, and another provides further evidence that 1,4-dioxane in everyday products poses a threat to our drinking water. We joined Dr. Gobler and our clean water partners for a virtual event last month to press the importance of preventing 1,4- dioxane and nitrogen contamination in Long Island’s waters and detailing the role this new research can play in developing good policy at the local and state level. 

Join Us for a Virtual Public Forum: Save the Western Bays

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Join us to get critical updates on restoring Western Bays water quality, the Bay Park Conveyance Project, and Long Beach STP Consolidation

Join Citizens Campaign for the Environment, Operation SPLASH and The Nature Conservancy for a virtual forum on restoring our Western Bays.  The forum will review the scientific need for diverting sewage from the Western Bays, provide updates on the connection of the South Shore Water Reclamation Facility (Bay Park Sewage Plant) and Long Beach Sewage Treatment Plant to an existing ocean outfall pipe at the Cedar Creek Sewage Treatment Plant, and provide an overview of upgrades that already made to South Shore WRF.  There will be a panel discussion at the end to answer your important questions!

When:   Thursday, April 8, 2021, 12:00pm -1:00pm

Speakers: Senator Todd Kaminsky

NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)

Nassau County 

Adrienne Esposito, Citizens Campaign for the Environment

Carl Lobue, The Nature Conservancy 

Panel Discussion: NYS DEC, Nassau County, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, Operation Splash, The Nature Conservancy and SUEZ

Register in advance to receive a zoom link

Background

The Western Bays are dying.  The science has been very clear— treated sewage effluent  entering into Reynolds Channel is choking our bays.  For over a decade, we advocated for significant upgrades to the Bay Park Sewage Treatment Plant and to divert the treated sewage to the ocean instead of the bay. New York State and Nassau County are advancing a monumental project known as The Bay Park Conveyance Project that will use an aqueduct under Sunrise Highway to connect the SSWRF and Long Beach Sewage Treatment Plant to an existing outfall pipe at the Cedar Creek Sewage Treatment Plant. This plan saves money and time—a win for the Western Bays and the public. 

Thank you for joining us!

Sincerely,
Your Friends at CCE

WE NEED ACTION ON NEW YORK’S SOLID WASTE CRISIS

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Hold manufacturers—not taxpayers—responsible for their waste!

New York State is suffering from a growing solid waste and recycling crisis. Recycling markets in China and elsewhere have closed their doors to the U.S., forcing us to start managing our long-standing solid waste problems. As a result, municipal recycling costs have skyrocketed, recycling rates have declined, and our environment and health are suffering from pollution.

Signs of our solid waste crisis are evident across New York:

Plastic packaging and paper recycling are in crisis: New York generates more than 17 million tons of municipal solid waste annually. An estimated 40 percent of that waste is composed of product packaging and paper products, such as plastic containers, steel cans, plastic film, glass bottles, newspaper, and cardboard. Unfortunately, less than half of this waste is being recycled properly. Instead of being recycled, much of this waste is ending up as litter in our communities, shipped to landfills, or burned in trash incinerators. 

Costs to local governments—and taxpayers—have skyrocketed: Municipalities were once getting paid for recyclables, however now, they must pay to recycle. Instead of generating revenue from recyclables, many municipalities face recycling costs in the hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars per year. The increased cost for local governments to process these materials is estimated to total $80 million across NYS in 2021. Local officials are now forced to consider raising fees on residents and/or reducing the recycling services provided to their communities.

Image by flockine from Pixabay

New York’s waterways are suffering from increased plastic pollution: All too often, plastic packaging is littering our communities, ultimately making its way into our treasured rivers, lakes, bays, and ocean. Plastics do not biodegrade once they enter the environment—instead they break down into tiny pieces known as microplastics, which are frequently mistaken for food and ingested by fish and other aquatic wildlife. Recent research indicates that Lake Erie contains 381 metric tons of plastic—more than 50 times greater than the previous estimates at the surface. In NY/NJ Harbor Estuary, there are an estimated 165 million plastic particles floating in the water at any given time. In Long Island Sound coastal communities, voluntary clean ups report finding over 110,000 pounds of marine debris on beaches over the last 8 years.

Large Brands are Failing to Take Responsibility: Currently, manufacturers bear no responsibility for disposing of packaging waste they create. Large brands have externalized the cost of disposing of packaging onto our municipal recycling programs and local taxpayers.  For example, an estimated 165 billion packages are shipped in the U.S. every year, and yet companies currently bear no responsibility for managing any of this packaging waste that their businesses create.  Instead, taxpayers are shouldering the financial burden for disposal. 

The Solution to Reducing Waste and Saving Taxpayers Money: Hold Manufacturers Responsible for their Waste: Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) would require manufacturers to take responsibility for their products throughout their entire product life cycle, by bearing the cost of proper recycling and responsible disposal for packaging and printed paper. Not only does this provide relief to taxpayers, but it also serves as an incentive for producers to minimize packaging materials, improve recyclability, and reduce the toxicity of their products. Packaging EPR policies have existed in Canada and the EU for decades and resulted in recycling rates upwards of 90%.

New York Must Take Action on Our Solid Waste Crisis!

Governor Cuomo and the New York State legislature can reduce waste, increase recycling, save taxpayers money, and protect our treasured waters by passing the Extender Producer Responsibility Act (S.1185A/A.5801) for packaging and paper. Take action and urge the Governor, along with your representatives in the NY Senate and Assembly, to support passage of this important legislation as soon as possible!

Thanks for taking action. Together we make a difference!

Sincerely,
Your friends at CCE

Support New York’s First Offshore Wind Farm

Urge BOEM to move forward with approval for the South Fork Wind Farm

New York is poised to be a global leader in the fight against climate change, but we cannot get there without embracing offshore wind. On the South Fork of Long Island, a projected increase in energy demand necessitates either an offshore wind farm or new fossil fuel power plant. LIPA’s approval of the South Fork Wind Farm allows for the increased energy demand to be achieved with renewable energy and not with a new fossil fuel power station.  This project will bring 130 MW of renewable energy to Long Island.

Your voice is needed! The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) released the draft Environmental Impact Statement and is set to make a decision on whether to move forward with the project by the end of the year. Dozens of studies are already completed to ensure the project is responsibly developed, mitigates potential impacts on wildlife, and protects the coastline. 

Now we need you to speak up in support of the South Fork Wind Farm.

Submit public comment to BOEM today. Urge the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to ensure the South Fork Wind Farm moves forward quickly and provides reliable, clean power to Long Island.

Thanks for taking action. Together we make a difference!

Sincerely,
Your friends at CCE

Highlights and Happenings: January 2021

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Help CCE build on our success by supporting our campaigns to protect public health and the environment in NY and CT. Make a contribution today.

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Highlights

Victory! 2020 NY Environmental Bills Signed into Law 

Although 2020 was a difficult year due to the pandemic, we continued to fight for crucial environmental and public health legislation and achieved historic victories to protect our air, land, water, and communities. Thank you so much to everyone who continued to support our important work, and thank you to Governor Cuomo for signing these priority bills into law as we closed out 2020: 

• Banning the harmful chemical “TCE” in manufacturing

• Preventing illegal dumping of dangerous construction waste

• Banning the toxic “forever chemical” PFAS in food packaging

• Banning the dangerous pesticide glyphosate on state property

Victory! Big Steps Forward for Offshore Wind 

In January, New York selected two new offshore wind projects off the Atlantic coast – Beacon Wind and Empire Wind 2 – which will bring renewable energy to 1.3 million homes. These new projects will bring NY to almost halfway to our goal of 9,000MW of offshore wind by 2035. Along with the South Fork Wind Farm, Sunrise Wind, and Empire Wind, these five projects will play a critical role in transitioning our state away from fossil fuels. New York State is also making historic investments in offshore wind manufacturing, operations, and job training to ensure we not only fight climate change but also grow a greener economy. 

Photo Credits: NOAA

Protecting our Ocean Monument! 

One of President Joe Biden's first acts as POTUS was to take steps towards reversing Trump Administration rollbacks to our National Monuments, including the only marine national monument in the Atlantic! The Northeast Canyons & Seamounts is a unique geological landscape of tremendous ecologically value. It was listed as federally protected in 2016 but threatened under the previous administration. Millions of Americans spoke out about the need to safeguard our protected places and permanently protect our ocean monuments. We look forward to working with the Biden Administration to make this a reality. 

Top 2021 NY Budget Priorities 

Last month there was good environmental news in Governor Cuomo’s executive budget proposal. We were thrilled that many of our environmental priorities were proposed to receive full funding, and we will work to ensure these crucial items make it into the final budget. These include funding to upgrade our aging water infrastructure ($500 million) and full funding for the state’s Environmental Protection Fund ($300 million), which supports healthy Great Lakes and estuaries, clean drinking water, green jobs, and so much more! 

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Happenings

Supporting Long Island Offshore Wind 

Long Island is on the verge of becoming a national leader in offshore wind, with five wind farms now in progress. There are some exciting developments on these projects, but our work is far from over. On the local level, the Town of East Hampton has voted unanimously to approve a cable connection and community benefits agreement for the South Fork Wind Farm, which will be the first offshore wind farm in NY and only the second in the nation. On the federal level, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has released a draft Environmental Impact Statement on the South Fork Wind Farm and is holding three virtual meetings this month. We need you to voice your support of the South Fork Wind Farm – find out more about the BOEM meetings and South Fork Wind Farm DEIS here. 

Image by SatyaPrem from Pixabay

Pushing for a Better Bottle Bill in Connecticut 

Glass is one of the major challenges facing municipal recycling programs due to its weight and potential to contaminate the recycling stream when crushed. Last month, our staff and volunteers participated in Housatonic Resource Recovery Authority’s 2021 Glass Characterization study, which concluded that approximately 60% of all glass going into curbside recycling programs in CT is comprised of wine and liquor bottles! This strengthens CCE’s commitments to modernize Connecticut’s bottle bill by putting a refundable deposit on wine and liquor bottles. This will go a long way towards increasing glass recycling in our state, cleaning up our waste stream and saving municipalities (and taxpayers!) money. 

Tackling Toxic Sites on Long Island 

There are 126 homes south of the Navy/Grumman contaminated site in Calverton, Suffolk County that are drinking from private wells and unable to access public water, despite the presence of carcinogenic chemicals in groundwater around the site. Independent testing by Suffolk County revealed that perfluorinated compounds, or PFAS, were detected in 15% of these private drinking water wells. We are working with community members who are fighting to have their homes connected to public water. In January, we joined with residents, elected officials, and the Suffolk County Water Authority in a united call to the Navy to step up and pay for public drinking water for the residents. 

Join us for the next installment in our series of educational forums on offshore wind

New York’s Offshore Wind Projects: 
The Future is Today

New York is poised to be a leader in offshore wind. In 2019, NY passed the nation’s most aggressive climate bill, which mandates 70% renewable energy by 2030 and 9,000MW of offshore wind by 2035. To meet these ambitious goals, New York is moving forward with a series of wind farms off the coast of Long Island. In the second of three virtual forums (via zoom), offshore wind developers Orsted and Equinor will discuss the offshore wind projects they are building off Long Island. 

• Equinor is developing the Empire Wind Farm off the coast of Long Beach, which will deliver 816 MW of renewable energy to NY. Equinor was also recently selected to build two additional projects—Empire Wind 2, which will be 20 miles off the south shore of Long Island; and Beacon Wind, 50 miles off of Montauk.

• Orsted is building New York’s first offshore wind project, the South Fork Wind Farm, sited 35 miles off Montauk, as well as Sunrise Wind, which will be off Suffolk County and will deliver 880MW of power to Long Island.

Join us to learn more about these critical projects, which combined will power more than 2.4 million homes and bring us almost halfway to our goal of 9,000 MW of offshore wind in NY State.

After the presentations there will be a question and answer session with our speakers and moderator Adrienne Esposito, CCE’s Executive Director. 

Topic: New York Offshore Wind Projects
Date: Monday, February 8, 2021
Time: 7:00pm - 8:00pm 

Register now (after registering, you will receive a zoom link to participate)

This is the second of three offshore wind forums. The next installment in our series, “Offshore Wind and Community Benefits” will be held in March. Date TBA.

Thank you for joining us!

Sincerely,
Your friends at CCE

Highlights and Happenings: November 2020

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Help CCE build on our success, and support our campaigns to protect public health and the environment in NY and CT. Make a contribution today.

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Highlights

Victory! Another Milestone to Reduced Nitrogen Pollution to the Western Bays 

For decades, nitrogen pollution from sewage has caused harmful algal blooms, depleted oxygen, killed fisheries, and threatened tidal marshes in the Western Bays on Long Island. In November, the Nassau County Legislature unanimously voted “yes” to advance the much-needed project connecting the Bay Park Sewage Treatment Plant to an ocean outfall pipe at the Cedar Creek STP. This vote was a crucial milestone in the road to fixing our sewage infrastructure problems on the south shore of Long Island and will lead to greatly reduced nitrogen pollution entering the Western Bays. 

Fighting Toxic PFAS Contamination in Connecticut 

We are working throughout Connecticut to educate communities on the threat of PFAS—known as “forever chemicals”—in drinking water. In November, we joined the CT Department of Public Health and Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, as well as our environmental partners, for a discussion on PFAS contamination. Experts gave a detailed overview of the problem and the State’s response plan, followed by an informative Q&A session. If you missed the forum, watch it here! 

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Happenings

Supporting a Clean and Equitable Transportation Sector 

To address the climate crisis, we must take action to address climate pollution from the transportation sector, which accounts for more than one-third of greenhouse gas emissions (our largest source of carbon emissions). The Transportation Climate Initiative (TCI) is a regional program—consisting of 12 states (including New York and Connecticut) and the District of Columbia—which seeks to improve transportation, create green jobs, invest in disadvantaged communities, and reduce carbon emissions from the transportation sector. In November, we called on Governor Cuomo and Governor Lamont to sign on to TCI—we anticipate the Governor’s to make a decision by the end of the year. 

Image by brisch27 from Pixabay

Developing a Shared Vision for Clean Water in New York 

For the fourth year in a row, we convened a broad, diverse group of stakeholders from around the state for our Clean Water Roundtable (though this year the event was virtual). This group of environmental leaders, water suppliers, wastewater treatment operators, environmental justice organizations, construction contractors, and other clean water stakeholders work together to develop a list of shared priorities for clean water in New York State. We will be creating a 2021 agenda to protect water from its source to the tap, so stay tuned! 

Fighting for Clean Water and Jobs in New York 

In both good and bad economic times, it is critical that we maintain funding for environmental programs that support jobs, clean water, and healthy communities. New York’s environmental programs provide $40 billion to NY’s economy annually, support clean drinking water, protect public health, and help keep New Yorkers safe from the impacts of climate change. In November, we joined with a large coalition of organizations from across the state for a virtual lobby day to call on the legislature to maintain funding for key programs, including the Clean Water Infrastructure Act, Environmental Protection Fund, Parks 2020, and more! 

Supporting Long Island Offshore Wind 

Long Island is on the verge of becoming a national leader in offshore wind, with three projects in the pipeline and a goal of 9,000 MW from offshore wind over the next 15 years. One of the three selected projects, Sunrise Wind, will be located off the coast of Montauk and power over half a million homes. In November, we joined many of our Wind Works Long Island partners, community groups, and the public for a virtual forum hosted by project developers Ørsted and Eversource, to learn more about this project and give feedback on how to mitigate environmental and community impacts as New York moves forward with this key project. 

Stop Sucking and Start Sipping! 

Take the pledge to reduce the amount of plastic you use when getting take-out from restaurants. Throughout the pandemic we’ve seen a surge in the use of disposable plastics. In the U.S. we use millions of plastic straws and utensils every day, many of which ending up in our rivers, lakes, and oceans. It’s time to get back on track and reduce the amount of disposable plastics we get when ordering takeout from restaurants. Break the throw-away plastic habit and sign the pledge to reduce plastics by choosing reusable straws, utensils and bags when getting takeout at restaurants! Take the pledge TODAY! 

Tackling Toxic Sites on Long Island 

We have continued our work with the Calverton community to ensure residents have clean public drinking water. Many in the community are still on private wells, including residents just south of a Navy/Grumman toxic site in Suffolk County. Unfortunately, the Navy has been slow to clean up the contamination, including dangerous PFAS chemicals. Our Executive Director, Adrienne Esposito, is a member of the Calverton Restoration Advisory Board, a community oversight board, and we are fighting the public’s drinking water. In November, Adrienne was quoted in the Riverhead Local “The groundwater is held in public trust…If the Navy or anybody pollutes it, it’s their responsibility to clean it up. The Navy needs to put their big boy pants on and clean it up.” Meanwhile in Nassau County, we joined the public and stakeholders for a meeting last month about the clean-up plan for the Nav/Grumman toxic site in Bethpage. Advocates have been battling for a faster, more in-depth clean-up of the Bethpage site for years, and the Navy has finally agreed to an improved remediation plan for the community! 

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Image by kie-ker from Pixabay

Upcoming: New York Leads on Climate Change 

We are going to be hosting three virtual educational forums on offshore wind, with the first forum on December 15th at noon. We’ll be joined by Senator Todd Kaminsky, Assemblyman Steve Englebright, and NYSERDA to discuss Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, meeting the state’s critical and ambitious climate goals, and the important role that offshore wind will play. Following the presentations there will be a panel discussion with the speakers, as well as Julie Tighe from the New York League of Conservation Voters and Joe Martens from the NY Offshore Wind Alliance. Learn more about the event and find a register here. 

ADDRESS CT’S RECYCLING AND SOLID WASTE CRISIS

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Tell CT lawmakers to implement solutions to cut waste, increase recycling and reduce pollution

Connecticut is facing a solid waste and recycling crisis. Recycling markets in China and elsewhere have closed their doors to the U.S., forcing us to deal with our long-standing solid waste problems. As a result, municipal recycling costs have skyrocketed, recycling rates have declined, and our environment and health are suffering from pollution. 

Signs of our solid waste crisis are evident across Connecticut:

Over-reliance on trash incineration: CT is heavily dependent on outdated trash incinerators for waste disposal. Governor Lamont recently decided to end taxpayer subsidies for Hartford’s dirty and decades-old incinerator, leading to its impending closure. While this will be a win for taxpayers, our environment, and public health, it leaves CT with an increasingly urgent need for alternative solutions to sustainably manage this waste.

Costs to taxpayers have skyrocketed: Municipalities that were once getting paid for their recyclables must now pay to recycle. One example—Bridgeport went from $130,000 in income from recyclables to a projected $394,380 per year in expenses. 

Consumer packaging is creating a major solid waste problem: Consumer packaging, such as plastic trays, StyrofoamTM containers, cardboard boxes, plastic film, and other flexible packaging makes up about 41% of Connecticut’s municipal solid waste. Less than half of this packaging waste is recycled properly in CT.

Food waste: Wasted food is a serious economic, environmental, and food security problem. The overproduction, distribution, and preparation of food has led to excessive waste of usable food scraps, contributes to climate change, and perpetuates the challenges of food insecurity. 22% of CT’s solid waste stream is food waste—this equates to roughly 520,000 tons of food being thrown away each year.  

CT needs bold, transformative solutions to reduce solid waste, increase recycling, save taxpayers money, and eliminate the need for aging trash incinerators:

1. Hold Manufacturers—Not Taxpayers—Accountable for Costs: An Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) law for packaging allows municipalities to shift the cost of collecting and recycling packaging waste away from taxpayers and back to the manufacturers that design and profit from these products. By holding producers accountable for these costs, EPR incentivizes the design of packaging that is more environmentally friendly and easier to recycle.

2. Modernize Connecticut’s Bottle Bill: The Bottle Bill stands as one of CT’s most successful environmental laws since the 1980’s. Unfortunately, failure to update this law has made CT the lowest performing deposit system in the world, with a redemption rate around 50% (a 37% drop from where CT was 15 years ago). Expanding the program to include non-carbonated beverages such as juices, teas, and sports drinks can increase recycling by more than 400 million containers per year. Raising the deposit from 5 to 10 cents creates a stronger incentive to recycle.

3. Expand Food Waste Collection in Connecticut: CT’s Commercial Organics Recycling law requires some large food generators (e.g. food wholesalers, supermarkets, resorts) to donate or compost their unwanted food. By expanding this law to include other large food generators such as schools, hospitals, stadiums and food courts, CT could significantly reduce food waste, while increasing composting, generating clean energy, and feeding the hungry.

Contact your representatives in the CT House and Senate TODAY and urge them to adopt sustainable solutions to Connecticut’s solid waste and recycling crisis!

Thanks for taking action. Together we make a difference!

Sincerely,
Your friends at CCE