MASSPIRG Statement: Bigger, Better Bottle Bill Passes Committee

MASSPIRG

MASSPIRG Statement: Bigger, Better Bottle Bill Passes Committee 

BOSTON – The Massachusetts Legislature’s Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy (TUE) gave a favorable report to the Bigger Better Bottle Bill (H.3289/S.2149) on Thursday, sending it to the Senate Ways and Means Committee for further consideration.

The Better Bottle Bill, sponsored by Sen. Cynthia Creem (Newton) and Rep. Marjorie Decker (Cambridge), aims to modernize Massachusetts’ nearly 40 year-old Bottle Bill law. The new legislation would expand the Massachusetts Bottle Bill to include more types of beverage containers, like water bottles and “nips,” and it would increase the deposit from 5 cents to 10 cents. The bill has been endorsed by 68 local and state organizations, and  other civic leaders, businesses and legislators. 

In response, MASSPIRG Executive Director Janet Domenitz said:  

“In a move that brings good new year tidings, today, we move Massachusetts closer to reducing waste, increasing recycling and decreasing litter. The Bigger Better Bottle Bill will address the single-use plastic waste that has grown worse over time. We ’re grateful to Rep. Decker, Sen. Creem, and the TUE Committee and its chairs Rep. Jeffrey Roy (Franklin) and Sen. Michael Barrett (Lexington) for taking one more step toward passing one of the strongest recycling laws in the country.”