Thank you for this opportunity to submit testimony in
support of HB3356, the Updated Bottle Bill, sponsored by Representative Douglas
Peterson.
As you may know, MASSPIRG has championed this important
recycling program since it was introduced in the Legislature in the 1970’s.
Since the Bottle Bill became law in 1983, it has proven to be a success on so
many fronts---it’s good for the environment, conserves resources, promotes
corporate accountability, reduces litter, and counters the throwaway mentality
that results in so much waste in our society. This is why we need to make the
law even more effective and adopt the updates which are included in HB3356.
The main provisions of HB3356 are as follows:
1. It updates the law to cover juice, iced tea, water,
sports, and other beverages which were not on the shelves in the early 1980’s
when the law was passed.
These ‘new age’ drinks constitute a tremendous amount of
waste now. About 90 percent of plastic bottles end their lives in landfills,
according to Treehugger.com. With a deposit on most of these containers, we
could significantly increase recycling and reduce waste in Massachusetts. Some bottle bill skeptics
argue that the redemption rate has been going down, and that’s a sign of the
bottle bill ‘fading.’ Once reaching close to 85%, the most recent figures have
the redemption rate closer to 70%. But
it is precisely because of the fact that many drinks now on store shelves have
no deposit that people are redeeming less overall---it has become less a part
of consumers’ everyday lives as they drink more ‘new age’ and less cola or carbonated
beverages. If most of what people drank was covered by the Bottle Bill, the
redemption rate would rise again.
Twenty five years after the Bottle Bill was passed, concerns
about air pollution, oil consumption, and conservation have only become deeper.
Global warming was not even part of the conversation in the early 1980’s. One
of the simplest, yet most powerful things we can do to address all these
environmental and public health threats is to increase reuse and recycling
programs.
2. It raises the handling fee and establishes an escalation
clause.
A section of the
bill provides for an increase in the handling fee for retailers and redemption
centers. The last adjustment was in 1990
from 2 cents to 2.25 cents. In comparison
Vermont has increased their fee to 3.25 cents
and Maine to
3.5 cents. This is just another example of the need to update a perfectly good
law which has fallen behind the times----to leave the same handling fee for 17
years is a signal of neglect. And the escalation clause will prompt a more
regular review.
3. It calls for
re-establishment of the Clean Environment Fund.
The unclaimed
deposits, or ‘escheat’, add up to a significant amount of money each year, in
the tens of millions of dollars. Until several years ago, those funds were
dedicated, appropriately, to the Clean Environment Fund. This fund was used to
assist cities and towns in their municipal recycling efforts and put toward
other environmental efforts. As a result of strain on the general fund, the CEF
(as well as other dedicated funds) were dismantled. But the letter, and the
spirit, of the Bottle law should be recaptured, so that these monies are put
toward promoting recycling and the environment.
I appreciate your
consideration of this testimony, and look forward to working with the committee
to make this law as successful as it can be.
Thank you.
