As the new home of MASSPIRG's environmental work, Environment Massachusetts can be contacted regarding this news release.
A
statewide network of environmental, consumer, and civic groups launched
their “New Year's Resolution Campaign for an Updated Bottle Bill" today
in Boston
The
Massachusetts Bottle Bill celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2003. The
bottle bill has done more to control litter and spur recycling in
Massachusetts than any other state or local program. Since 1990, more
than 21 billion bottles and cans bearing a 5-cent deposit have been
returned and recycled through the bottle bill.
But
the bottle bill needs to be brought up to date to meet the state’s
current and future needs. To update the state bottle bill, Rep. Douglas
Petersen (D-Lynn) filed HD3689, which would improve the Massachusetts
Bottle Bill in two significant ways:
It would add water, sports
drinks, teas, juices, wine and liquor bottles to the bottle bill –
beverages that barely existed when the original bill was enacted over
20 years ago.
It would raise over $16 million in additional state revenue from projected unclaimed deposits.
“Governor
Romney has been very supportive of updating the bottle bill. In both
2003 and 2004, he proposed updates that would have almost a billion
containers and expanded state revenue, said Rep. Douglas Petersen
(D-Marblehead). “I believe that the strong support that the proposal
has received will enable us to pass the update this session.”
The
Massachusetts Bottle Bill has not been updated since its implementation
in 1983 - except for increasing the handling fee for recycling centers
and redirecting the unclaimed deposit's windfall profits to the state.
The last major push for updating the bottle bill was in 1997 - when the
bill failed despite overwhelming public support.
“New
leadership in the House and a new legislative session provide a great
opportunity to take long overdue action on this bill,“ said Janet
Domenitz, MASSPIRG’s Executive Director. It’s hard to get more win/win
than this bill -- increase recycling, bring needed revenue to state
coffers, and get rid of more container litter.”
"Boosting
recycling rates means fewer containers will be land-filled or
incinerated, more natural resources will be conserved, energy will be
saved and greenhouse gases reduced. The bottle bill already has
diverted about 2 million tons from the waste stream over the past 20
years," said James McCaffrey, the director of the Massachusetts Sierra
Club.
An
increasing number of containers are finding their way to landfills, due
to changing consumer habits: people are drinking more “new age”
beverages (such as iced tea, fruit juice, and bottled water), and they
are drinking them away from home--and away from the convenience of
their curbside recycling bins. As a result, an estimated 90,000 tons of
beverage containers are now disposed of as garbage annually, instead of
being recycled through the Massachusetts deposit system.
The
deposit system recovers 69% of all carbonated beverages sold in the
Commonwealth. Local curbside recycling programs recover an estimated
10% more. Only 20% of the containers sold in Massachusetts end up in a
landfill or incinerator, or as litter. In contrast, states without
deposit systems usually recycle about 22% of the containers sold. The
industry-financed collection mechanism established through the bottle
bill also reduces the collection burden on local, taxpayer-funded
curbside programs.
Finally,
unclaimed deposits have traditionally provided critical funding for
many state recycling and environmental programs. The bottle bill
currently brings the state over $33 million in annual revenue from
unclaimed deposits. Under the update, an additional $16 million would
be added to state revenue.
"The
Bottle Bill is one of our most effective tools for decreasing litter,
increasing recycling, and creating cleaner communities," said Rep.
Alice Wolf (D-Cambridge), a co-sponsor of the bill. "During these
difficult fiscal times, it would provide incentives to local
communities for recycling and added revenue for the Commonwealth. It is
sound environmental and fiscal policy, updating it makes good common
sense."
Last
year, a similar measure drew huge public support. Over 40 environmental
groups, recycling companies and redemption centers endorsed the update.
According
to Jennifer Gitlitz of the Container Recycling Institute, "Twenty years
ago, iced tea, sports drinks, and bottled water were barely a blip on
the radar screen; now they account for over 25 billion trashed
containers in the United States each year. Maine, Hawaii and California
have already incorporated these drinks into their deposit laws. By
updating its bottle bill, Massachusetts will set an important example
for other states."
