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March 27, 2019
Press Release

AF&PA Statement of Opposition to New York State Paper Bag Tax

CONTACT: Barbara Riley/Lindsay Murphy
(202) 463-2436, comm@afandpa.org

WASHINGTON – The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) underscored its opposition to a proposed tax on paper carryout bags currently under discussion as the New York legislature works out its 2019-2020 state budget. AF&PA President and CEO Donna Harman issued the following statement:

“Taxing paper carryout bags is a regressive move that wrongfully penalizes a product that is recyclable, easily processed at municipal recovery facilities, compostable, made of recycled material and reusable. Retail stores today have the option to charge for carryout bags or any other in-store service without needing permission from the state. A state-required fee creates state-mandated profits at the expense of customers, particularly impacting low-income New Yorkers.”

Paper bags are an environmental success story, made from a renewable resource (trees) and paper recovered from recycling programs. In 2017, 65.8 percent of all paper consumed in the U.S. was recovered for recycling, and the recovery rate has met or exceeded 63 percent for the past nine years.

Paper is the most-recycled material in the U.S. today. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, more paper (by weight) is recovered for recycling from municipal solid waste streams than glass, plastic and aluminum combined.1 Paper recycling extends the useful life of fiber, keeps paper out of landfills, is widely accessible and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

Paper use translates to incentives to plant more trees. Because of the sustainability commitment of the paper industry, more trees are planted each year than are harvested. Well managed forests provide a multitude of environmental, social and economic benefits to thousands of American communities. Forests are also the key to help mitigate climate change due to carbon sequestration and promoting biodiversity.

 

[1] https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-09/documents/2013_advncng_smm_fs.pdf

The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) serves to advance public policies that foster economic growth, job creation and global competitiveness for a vital sector that makes the essential paper and packaging products Americans use every day. The U.S. forest products industry employs more than 925,000 people, largely in rural America, and is among the top 10 manufacturing sector employers in 44 states. Our industry accounts for approximately 4.7% of the total U.S. manufacturing GDP, manufacturing more than $435 billion in products annually. AF&PA member companies are significant producers and users of renewable biomass energy and are committed to making sustainable products for a sustainable future through the industry’s decades-long initiative — Better Practices, Better Planet 2030.