Today Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that through executive order his administration will end the purchase of Unnecessary Single-use Plastic Bottles as well as restrict their sale on City property. This executive action puts into effect the goal of my legislation, Introductions 846-2018 and 839-2018, which would ban the sale of single-use plastic bottles in all New York City parks. 

I applaud the de Blasio’s administration efforts through executive action to protect the environment and make sure New York City is working to reduce our City’s use of single-use plastic water bottles as each year Americans disposed of 50 billion plastic water bottles. Now that the Mayor has demonstrated his support look forward to working with him to make this law, and I am calling on the City Council to pass Introductions 846-2018 and 839-2018 and codify this policy.

Background: 

One million plastic bottles are purchased every minute with less than 50% recycled and only 7% turned into new bottles, with as much as 13 million tons of plastic leaking into our oceans each year to be ingested by sea life. In turn, people who eat seafood ingest about 11,000 pieces of tiny plastic every year.

In 2011, President Obama banned the sale of plastic bottles in National Parks. Following this action, Grand Canyon National Park found waste reduction from single-use plastic bottles of as much as 300 tons or 30 percent. In 2017, President Trump repealed the Obama Administration’s ban. 

A ban on selling plastic bottles on City property will cover Trump-branded park concessions, such as Trump Rink at Central Park and Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point.

Sign the petition at BenKallos.com/petition/banthebottle

Read the release on the legislative introductions at BenKallos.com/Press-Releases