Letter to Governor Kathy Hochul and State Senator Pete Harckham
Our community’s struggle with plastic waste is visible in our overflowing bins and littered parks. While recycling is often touted as the solution, the reality is that a staggering amount of plastic bottled water waste still ends up in our landfills. It is time for our government to stop managing the symptoms and start addressing the cause.
Last year, I read a story titled “We are drowning in plastics” that featured my state senator, Pete Harckham. Senator Harckham highlighted the fact that
“Less than 6% of plastic gets recycled, while the rest ends up in landfills and incinerators. In New York, plastic accounts for about 14% of the 18 million tons of waste that ends up in landfills and incinerators, according to state figures. And the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) notes that the state’s 25 municipal solid waste landfills could be full within 15 years.”
Last year, my family took a summer vacation and stayed at a home on the Jersey Shore. In the home, we used a Brita water pitcher by simply refilling it every day with tap water. We enjoyed this product so much that we bought one when we got home and have used it ever since.
The Green results have been impressive. Our family has reduced the number of disposable water bottles (Poland Spring) by 60%, simply by using our water pitcher at home instead of recycling 30 water bottles every week.
So, my suggestion for Senator Harckham and for Governor Hochul is to take this idea statewide and implement a program to provide water-filtering pitchers for every New York family that wants one. The cost will be less than $50 per pitcher, plus an extra filter that doesn’t need to be changed for several months.
The logic is simple: many residents rely on bottled water not out of luxury, but because they want cleaner-tasting or safer water than what comes directly from their taps. By providing a free water-filtering pitcher, the government can empower citizens to ditch plastic for good.
The benefits are threefold:
Environmental Impact: We would see a drastic reduction in single-use plastic consumption and the carbon footprint associated with transporting bottled water.
Economic Efficiency: The cost of subsidizing filters is a drop in the bucket compared to the long-term expenses of municipal waste collection and landfill maintenance.
Public Health: It ensures that all residents, regardless of income, have access to the highest-quality drinking water in their own kitchens.
We have seen successful government-led initiatives for energy-efficient appliances and low-flow toilets. It is time we applied that same logic to our water. Let’s make it easier for New York to go green by making the tap the best choice for every household.
And one last thought for Governor Hochul: it doesn’t have to be a Brita water pitcher. It could be any product, or we could even build them here in New York State!
Happy Earth Day! Sincerely,
Katie Murphy, Mahopac
