Please make 3 critical phone calls ASAP to help ensure that New York State does not enact the Governor's flawed EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility) budget proposal and waits to get EPR right in the legislative session, instead.

1. Dial 518-455-3791 to reach Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (it's pronounced "hasty").

2. When someone answers, feel free to use your own words or follow this short script:

"Hi, my name is _YOUR NAME_ and I'm calling from _YOUR TOWN/CITY_ to urge the Speaker/Majority Leader/Assemblymember to oppose including Extended Producer Responsibility in the budget process. Instead, I urge them to support Assemblymember Englebright's strong EPR and Bottle Bill proposals.

Passing a weak, ineffective EPR bill like the Governor's current proposal will set us back years and prevent the progress we need to make right now. I urge the Speaker to reject this budget proposal and, instead, to support the Englebright EPR and Bottle Bill proposals."

3. Thank the staffer for taking your call. They may ask you to provide your full address.

4. Hang up and repeat the process for Assembly Majority Leader, Crystal Peoples-Stokes. Dial (518) 455-5005 to reach her office. Use the script above, be polite and thank the staff person for taking your call.

5. Hang up and repeat the process for your own Assemblymember. Dial the Assembly Switchboard at (518) 455-4100. If you're not sure who your Assemblymember is, you can look them up here. Use the script above, be polite and thank the staff person for taking your call.

6. Once you've hung up, please take a moment to fill out the form on the right to let us know how your calls went -- a very important step!

Background on what the Governor's EPR budget proposal fails to do:

• Expand the Bottle Bill to cover non-carbonated beverages and raise the deposit to a dime
• Hold companies accountable, rather than giving them control of the program
• Set strong packaging reductions, recycling rates, and recycled content standards
• Eliminate toxics in packaging
• Use the fees collected for taxpayer relief and investments in reuse and recycling infrastructure
• Does not permit the burning of plastic under the guise of "chemical recycling" or "advanced recycling"
  

Thank you so much for helping to stem the tide of plastic pollution in New York State.