After introducing a chemical-industry backed plastic waste bill to the New York State Assembly in January, Assemblywoman Chantel Jackson held an online briefing to discuss how her proposed legislation would work. But instead of explaining the “who, what, when, why and how” of the bill itself, she handed the floor over to two public relations representatives — one from the New York State Business Council and the other from multinational lawn care company ScottsMiracle-Gro, which manufactures various chemical products for agricultural and consumer use.
Over the last two years, nine firms representing 12 different chemical interests have met with Assemblywoman Jackson. She has had 16 such meetings. One of those lobbying firms, the MirRam Group, is a powerhouse political consultant with particularly deep ties to the Bronx.
Jackson’s bill is one of two vying to address the plastic waste crisis in New York State. The other bill, with strong backing from environmental advocates including the Bronx Solid Waste Advisory Board and South Bronx Unite, requires a 30% decrease in plastic packaging over the next decade, bans more than a dozen toxic chemicals currently used in plastic production, and establishes a state office to oversee compliance.
The bill Jackson introduced allows chemical companies to set their own waste reduction targets and enforce them themselves. Plastics, chemical and petroleum companies support the Jackson bill.
But Jackson is not alone. The American Chemistry Council, which represents businesses like Dupont and Exxon, has spent nearly $2 million dollars lobbying New York state representatives over the last two years and put $250,000 into reelection campaigns for legislators across the state.
According to Judith Enck of Beyond Plastics, a Vermont based non-profit that aims to “to end plastic pollution,” who met with Jackson for an hour this spring, Jackson’s bill was spurred by the plastics industry.
“[Jackson] was very honest with me… she introduced the bill at the request of industry lobbyists,” said Enck.
Microplastics, often originating from the breakdown of plastic packaging, have been found in food, water, and human tissues, raising serious health concerns, according to Stanford’s Plastic and Health Working Group. PFAS and vinyl chloride, used in everyday packaging and banned by the original bill backed by the environmental groups, have been linked to increased cancer risk by the National Cancer Institute and the National Institutes of Health.
In a March memorandum opposing Jackson’s bill, Beyond Plastics offered an explanation for industry support for the bill: “A common tactic by parties opposed to real progress is to advance a weak alternative bill intended to delay or block actual solutions,” the group explained.
Jackson’s office did not respond to multiple requests from the Mott Haven Herald to discuss her bill or industry influence on it. However, she has said she’s worried about regulation making household staples that include plastic more expensive for people in her district. At her March briefing on the bill, Jackson said that she does not want to “Take groceries away from New Yorkers or money out of our pockets.”
Chemical-Industry Lobbyists Target Bronx Legislators
Over the past two years, the chemical industry has heavily lobbied nearly every state-level legislator representing the Bronx on the plastic waste issue, including many who support Jackson’s industry-supported bill. Assembly members John Zacarro Jr. and George Alvarez as well as State Senators Nathalia Fernandez and Luis Sepúlveda have all signed on to co-sponsor it.
A spokesman for Assemblyman Alvarez told the Mott Haven Herald that he supports the industry-backed bill because the environmentalist-backed one “just might be detrimental to private companies and drain their pockets.”
Some of the lobbying of Bronx legislators on behalf of the American Chemistry Council has been conducted by the MirRam Group, the lobbying firm founded by Luis Miranda and Roberto Ramirez, who for five terms represented the Bronx’s 78th Assembly District (now represented by Alvarez). Miranda chairs the Latino Victory Fund, a national fundraising apparatus that works to elect Latinos to public office.
Legislators Shift Their Stance After Industry Lobbying
Public records show legislators’ positions on plastic waste legislation shifted after meetings with industry lobbyists.
In February Sepúlveda posted on Instagram about his support for the environmentalist-backed bill and signed on to co-sponsor it. But by March, after several meetings with the Business Council of New York State to discuss the bill, he had removed himself as a co-sponsor from the environmentalist-backed bill and signed on to co-sponsor the industry-backed one. Sepúlveda’s office declined to comment for this article.
Last year, chemical industry lobbyists met with Assemblywoman Amanda Septimo 13 times, after which she began using what Enck described as “industry talking points” in several statements before the State Assembly. This year, however, Septimo has hardly been lobbied on plastics issues and has not made any public comments or taken any stance on either plastics recycling bill. Assemblywoman Septimo’s office declined repeated requests to comment for this article.
Environmental Impact
Plastic pollution is a visible issue throughout the Bronx, where plastic waste often accumulates on streets and in waterways. Extensive research shows microplastics have become pervasive in our bodies and bloodstreams. Local environmental groups, including the Bronx Solid Waste Advisory Board, have been vocal advocates for stronger plastic waste legislation.
In a May 2025 letter to Governor Hochul, the Bronx Solid Waste Advisory Board strongly endorsed the environmentalist-backed bill as “an effective way to limit plastics in our bodies and environment, and the toxic chemicals associated with plastics.”
Sure We Can, a non-profit recycling center and sustainability hub in Brooklyn, recently collaborated with Bronx activists to address plastic pollution in the Bronx River. In a May 1st Instagram post, the group documented “a log jam of plastic bottle waste choking the Bronx River.”
The debate over competing waste bills has significant implications beyond the Bronx. While five other states have passed producer responsibility laws for packaging, environmental advocates see the New York bill as having the potential to be the strongest yet.
“We need a state to do it right,” said Enck.
The Bronx Solid Waste Advisory Board concluded their appeal with a clear position: “We believe this bill represents an effective way to limit as much as possible plastics in our bodies and environment.”
Although the environmentalist-backed bill has passed two assembly committees, no floor vote has yet been scheduled.
Editor’s note: On May 28th, the New York State Senate passed the original, environmentalist-backed packaging reduction bill 33-25. State Senator Luis Sepúlveda was among the “yes” votes. In 2024 the bill passed in the senate but did not make it to the assembly floor.
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