Photo Courtesy of Emil Cohen/NY City Council
“I look forward to a day when these receipts are tossed out for good,” Councilman Constantinides said.
By Forum Staff
The City Council will hold upcoming hearings on bills designed to give customers more choice over receiving receipts and phase out the use of BPA-coated receipt paper, Council Speaker Corey Johnson announced Friday.
The city’s legislative body is set to consider four bills that will look at providing consumers with the option of declining a paper receipt in exchange for an e-receipt; providing customers with the option not to print receipts; requiring the recycling of receipts; and alternatives to BPA/BPS (bisphenol A/bisphenol S) paper.
“Buying a candy bar shouldn’t require a four-foot receipt. Yet many retailers burn through unnecessary amounts of paper while exposing millions of New Yorkers to harmful toxins. I look forward to a day when these receipts are tossed out for good,” said Councilman Costa Constantinides (D-Astoria), chairman of the Council Committee on Environmental Protection.
The council cited a Green America report that indicates that, in the United States, the use of receipts consumes more than 3 million trees each year. The majority of paper receipts are coated with BPA or BPS, chemicals that can have adverse effects on the human body. The EU has already prohibited BPA receipts starting in 2020.
“Nobody needs foot-long receipts. We will work with businesses and consumers to cut out paper receipt waste and protect the planet,” Johnson said. “Let’s not print receipts when they aren’t wanted, especially when we have technology to issue environmentally-friendly alternatives.”
Looking at the bigger eco picture, Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez (D-Manhattan) added, “We need to change the ways we dispose of our waste if we wish to become the most environmentally friendly city in the country.”
Councilwoman Debi Rose (D-Staten Island) said, “At a time when we need to reduce waste and our carbon footprint, receipts seem to be getting longer and longer, and most go straight to the shredder or trash can. We have the technology for electronic receipts. We should utilize it as a default across our city, with paper as a secondary option for those who expressly prefer it.”
