Press Release - Updated Bottle Bill Campaign Puts Spotlight on Legislature
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Boston, MA – The Campaign for an Updated Bottle Bill announced today that they have now reached a majority of state legislators in support of an updated bottle bill. As a result, the coalition will press ahead with the pending legislative bill and forego the initiative petition process.
"Since filing the initiative petition with the Attorney General, more legislators have joined our effort providing a legislative majority. With a majority of legislators, and with respect for an open and democratic process ahead, we look forward to a vote on overwhelmingly popular and critical issue soon," commented Janet Domenitz, spokesperson for the campaign and Executive Director of MASSPIRG.
"We are grateful for the overwhelming support of the public – a recent MassINC Polling Group showed 77% of the public in favor of the bill – as well as the support of municipal leaders from 200 cities and towns across the Commonwealth, including Boston‘s Mayor Menino. On July 20, over 300 people trekked to a public hearing to support the bill in the State House. Given this mandate both inside and outside the State House, we now believe the best strategy to update the most successful recycling program in the state is in the legislature," said James McCaffrey, Director of Sierra Club of Massachusetts.
On August 3, supporters of the Updated Bottle Bill, H1650/S1480, a bill which would add water, juice, and similar containers to the existing container deposit law, filed an initiative petition with the Attorney General?s office to preserve the option of putting the proposed law to the voters in November 2012. That petition was certified by the Attorney General earlier this month and provided the additional momentum inside the legislature.
"This is a win, win, win proposal,?" commented Rep. Alice Wolf, chief House sponsor of the bill. "This bill will reduce litter, increase recycling, and save cities and towns money in disposal and litter pick-up. I know many members of the House and Senate want these wins, and I know Governor Patrick wants to see this bill on his desk as soon as possible."
The updating of the bottle bill has the strong support of the Patrick administration. Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Ken Kimmell added, "Every year across Massachusetts, more than 30,000 tons of noncarbonated beverage bottles are buried in landfills, burned in waste-to-energy plants, or tossed onto our streets, parks and beaches. That's enough plastic bottles to fill Fenway Park ... five times."
The legislative committee charged with considering the bill, co-chaired by Rep. John Keenan of Salem and Sen. Ben Downing of Pittsfield, held a hearing on July 20. The bill is awaiting action from their Committee.
Help Update the Bottle Bill
What is the
Bottle Bill?
The
Bottle
Bill is the common name for the Massachusetts Beverage Container Recovery Law of 1982, Massachusetts General Law (MGL) c.94,
s.321-327.
The law imposes a refundable $.05 deposit on beer and soda containers thus
providing
a financial incentive for the public to return them for recycling.
What will Updating the
Bottle Bill Do?
Updating the Bottle Bill will add additional beverage containers for products such as bottled water and sport drinks to the list of containers that require a $.05 deposit. The consumption of these beverages has grown
exponentially
since the adoption of the original bill. An updated bottle bill
complements municipal recycling programs by targeting containers that
are
consumed away from home and are frequently littered and thrown in the
trash. As a result, an updated bottle bill increases overall
beverage
container recycling, supporting jobs within the recycling industry
while
reducing litter and the waste of valuable resources.
Why
update
the Bottle Bill?
The goal of the Bottle Bill is to target beverage containers that generate most of the litter. In 1983, when the law was created, those were beer and soda containers, and the bottle bill has been effective in reducing the number of these found in litter. Today, much of the litter comes from non-carbonated beverages (water, juice, sport drinks, etc.) that have become common over the last few years. We need to update the Bottle Bill to keep it effective. See MassRecycle's fact sheet for additional reasons.
What
happens to unclaimed deposits?
When a
bottle
is not returned for deposit (e.g. discarded as trash or placed in a
regular recycling
bin), the unclaimed deposit currently goes to the state’s general fund. Proponents of the Updated
Bottle Bill hope to
designate a portion of the unclaimed bottle deposit revenue from
bottles included
in the updated bill for recycling related initiatives.
How
effective is the Bottle Bill?
According to the MassDEP, in 2010 the Massachusetts recycling rate for deposit containers was 71%.
Compare
this to 23% average recycling rate for
beverage containers in states without a Bottle Bill.
Additional Information:
From MassDEP:
-
Municipal Benefits of an Expanded Bottle Bill website PDF
- Beverage Containers in Litter & Public Waste Receptacles PDF
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Take Action
Take Action Pledge
Have your community sign the Resolution
Call your Legislators |
Hot Links
The Bill
List of Supporters
MassRecycle's Fact Sheet
Response to Concerns
www.massbottlebill.org
www.bottlebill.org
MassDEP
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Take Action
NOW – It is Easy!
Call Your Legislator
Call
your
State Representative and State Senator and send him/her this fact sheet
(see
box with suggested message)
- Here
is how
to find his/her contact information: www.mass.gov/legis/city_town.htm
- Please
say the following, "I am calling to ask you to support the update of
the state Bottle Bill." It's that easy!
- Email
MassRecycle
to help us document your efforts and if you or the legislator has
questions
- Send
a
quick email to info@massrecycle.org
with the names of the state rep and senator you called and/or the
questions you
need answered.
- To
read
the text of the proposed bills and for more information: Visit www.massbottlebill.org
Have Your Municipality Sign the Resolution in Support of Updating the Bottle Bill
- Over 50% of municipalities have signed the Resolution in support of updating the Bottle Bill. Click here to see the full list. If your community is not on the list ask them to sign the resolution and join the others as a supporter. Click here to find out how..
Don't forget - thank those
who have indicated support!
Several Representatives and Senators have indicated support of the
Updated Bottle Bill in a Sierra Club questionnaire. If your Representative or
Senator is on this list, please call and thank them. It's
easy! All you need to say is: "Hi, my name is Jane Smith and I
wanted to thank Senator Jones for indicating support on the Updated
Bottle Bill."
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