Editor’s Note: From time to time, Women in Print Alliance provides alerts on critical legislative and regulatory issues impacting the printing industry as part of our advocacy mission. Even if you do not have a job duty directly related to the issue below, we encourage you to use your voice to help your company leadership be informed, prepared, and mobilized to address these important policy challenges.

In its effort to address packaging waste, the NY State legislature wants to pass a law to make those responsible for putting the packaging into the marketplace responsible for its collection and recycling through an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) program. This is the third time the state has tried to pass this type of legislation over the past three years. However, there has been a significant shift in the scope because the latest version of the legislation would also set requirements for packaging reduction, incorporation of recycled content, and ban the use of certain toxic chemicals that includes the use of carbon black-based materials, such as black printing inks.

After several competing bills failed to pass in 2023, in February 2024 legislators in the New York State Assembly and Senate introduced identical bills, AB5322B and SB4246B, which would enact the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act. The act will create an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) program that also would ban the use of certain toxic chemicals in packaging. One of the proposed chemicals to be banned is carbon black, the primary pigment in black printing inks. Banning the use of black printing inks would have a devastating impact on consumers and the printing and packaging converting industry from both a manufacturing and subsequent use perspective.

This bill was amended and reintroduced in 2024 and would still ban the use of black printing ink on packaging in the state of New York. The bill was on the Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee Agenda on February 13,2024 and the Alliance submitted a letter of opposition to all committee members. Unfortunately, the bill moved through the Assembly committee, and it is set to be on the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee agenda on February 25, 2024. PRINTING United Alliance submitted a letter of opposition to all members of the Senate committee. Additionally, the Alliance has launched an action alert open to assist New York state industry stakeholders in voicing their concerns on this proposed ban.

Beyond the obvious impact that would immediately be experienced by any person purchasing a covered product in a package, carbon black used in printing inks is not toxic. This has been confirmed by several regulatory agencies including the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and under California’s Proposition 65 regulations. Carbon black is also an important component in black plastic. Black plastic can pose a challenge with some waste separation technology because it is not detected, but advances in this technology have eliminated this problem allowing black plastic to be separated and recycled. Therefore, the reasoning used to justify this ban is completely unfounded.

PRINTING United Alliance is carefully monitoring the EPR legislative process in New York State and will be challenging any future attempts to ban carbon black with advocacy efforts and action alerts. We welcome advocacy engagement from the Women in Print community. Please follow me on LinkedIn to stay updated on timely developments.