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Bigger Better Bottle Bill proposed For years, recycling supporters in New York State have pinned their hopes on the passage of bills in the Legislature that would expand the returnable container law. Under current law, older even than the act that implemented widespread recycling in the state, containers of carbonated beverages (soda and beer) have carried a five cent deposit. The containers can be returned for a refund of the five cents. The habit of returning deposit containers varies across New York State. In the upstate areas, residents are very dedicated about returning the containers to the grocery store to redeem their deposits. Even when taking the soda and beer bottles and cans on the road, people will save them, bring them home and then take them to the store. In downstate areas, this is not necessarily the case. Because of the five-cent value, even when returnable containers are disposed of in public trash cans, often scavengers will retrieve the cans for the nickel value. The deposit law also predates the explosion in other types of drinks that are so popular. Water, fruit drinks, teas, power drinks all became popular well after the passage of the nickel deposit. While people who recycle are good about putting these containers in their Blue Box or other recycling container when they are at home, trips away from home are a different story. While traveling in the car, picnicking, or sight-seeing people will often drop the non-deposit containers in the most accessible trash, destined for a landfill. Several legislative sessions, bills that expand the deposit program have passed in the Assembly only to stall in the Senate, not even coming to the full body for a vote. Governor Paterson has again proposed an expanded bottle bill. By adding water, iced tea and sports drinks containers to the deposit system, NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation estimates an additional three billion containers will be returned for recycling. The huge number of containers put back into the recycling system has ripple-effect benefits in reducing materials going to landfills, reducing pollution from use of non-recycled (virgin) materials, and increasing raw material available for recycling. Aluminum and #1 PET plastic are very valuable as recycled materials with well-established infrastructure to bring the materials back to market as new products. The legislation has another benefit for the environment in New York State. Under current legislation, bottling companies have retained the unclaimed deposits. NYS DEC estimates the value of the pocketed money to bottlers at around $100 million per year. This amounts to an unearned profit for the companies directly out of consumers' pockets. The proposed legislation mandates that money from unclaimed deposits be given to New York State. The money would go into the Environmental Protection Fund. The EPF provides funding for open space, parks, farmland protection, river remediation, recycling and other environmental programs. The unclaimed deposits would benefit all the people of New York State. In a boon for small businesses, the proposed legislation increases the fee that stores and other redemption centers retain for handling the containers. The increased fee would give and incentive for free-standing redemption centers. These centers in turn reduce the pressure on stores, especially small vendors, to handle redemptions. For more information call 1.800.724.3867. Copyright
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