By Christopher Thompson

Hudson River Park has gotten about half of its tenants to sign onto an agreement to scrap single-use plastics.

Manhattan’s west side park has launched a program aimed to reduce single-use plastics.

The Hudson River Park Trust announced a new plan — “Park Over Plastic” — to reduce plastic pollution in the 550-acre park, as well as a third-party report tracking the program’s progress, the Trust said Monday.

Purchases and use of single-use plastics in offices and events for Hudson River Park have nearly been stopped altogether, according to the Trust.

“Chronic over-reliance on plastic is overwhelming our planet and harming the health of our waterways — and we see the impact right here in Hudson River Park,” Madelyn Wils, the president of the Trust, said in a statement. “Last summer alone, we led the cleanup of close to 1000 pounds of plastic debris from our shoreline. That is why we are taking action and launching Park Over Plastic to significantly reduce single-use plastics in the Park and educate New Yorkers on the dangers of plastic pollution.”

About half of the tenants who lease space from the park have signed onto an agreement to stop distributing and selling single-use plastic bottles, straws, stirrers and other products, and replace them with more environmentally friendly options, according to the Trust.

Those 13 of 27 businesses include City Vineyard, Manhattan Youth, The Frying Pan at the Pier 66 Maritime, Grand Banks, New York Classic Motors, Circle Line, Hudson River Community Sailing, The River Project, Village Community Boathouse, the Trapeze School New York at Pier 40, the Downtown Boathouse, Manhattan Kayak Company, and Blazing Saddles.

The firm NewKnowledge will also audit the new program to measure how successful it it. A spokesman for the Trust said the report should be released this winter.

The park is building out its plastic reduction program on top of existing environmental programs, including a composting program that collected 400,000 pounds of food scraps and horticultural waste last year and more than 400 educational programs. The Trust and the Estuary Lab are continuing plastics educational programs, in addition to research on tiny pieces of plastics, called microplastics, in the Hudson River.

“By putting their Park over Plastic, Hudson River Park Trust is stopping trash where it starts, helping create trash-free waters that will improve the lives of fish, wildlife and people,” Robert Pirani, director of the New York – New Jersey Harbor & Estuary Program, said in a statement. “Our research indicates that the food and drink-related plastics targeted by the Park are the largest source of street litter in waterfront communities.”

Throughout the park, water filling stations have been installed to encourage park-goers to use reusable bottles as well.