NYPIRG Scores Landmark Environmental Victory
with Passage of Expanded Bottle Bill

NYPIRG scored a landmark environmental victory this spring with passage of legislation known as the Bigger Better Bottle Bill as part of the 2009-2010 state budget.  This marks the first comprehensive update of New York’s 5-cent deposit law (known as the Bottle Bill) since it was created in 1982, and caps a 7-year campaign spearheaded by NYPIRG.

Starting June 1st, 2009, all bottled water sold in New York under a gallon in size will require a 5-cent deposit.   In addition, beverage companies will now have to transfer 80% of the unclaimed deposits they collect to the state.  Finally, the new law will improve the infrastructure for collecting and recycling bottles and cans, making it more convenient for people to return their empty containers.

This is a major grassroots victory, and one that will have huge benefits for New York.  Together, these reforms will result in noticeably cleaner communities, higher recycling rates, new revenue for the state, and the creation of new “green jobs” across New York. 

The Campaign

NYPIRG and a broad coalition of groups launched the campaign to update New York’s Bottle Bill in 2002, in the wake of a recycling crisis that rippled from New York City to Cheektowaga, near Buffalo.   From the beginning, our coalition included environmental groups, farmers, municipal recyclers, civic groups, redeemers, and small businesses.   Our groups called on state lawmakers to modernize the Bottle Bill to include bottled water and other noncarbonated beverages, and to increase funding for recycling and other environmental programs by requiring beverage companies to turn over the millions of dollars in unclaimed bottle deposits that they keep each year to the state.

While the Bigger Better Bottle Bill always enjoyed broad popular support, passage of this legislation was an uphill battle — one that many thought was impossible — due to strong opposition from powerful and well-financed special interests in Albany, headed up by giant beverage corporations like Coca Cola, Pepsi and Anheuser Busch.  Opponents of the Bigger Better Bottle Bill spent millions of dollars on campaign contributions, top-tier lobbyists, and ad campaigns designed to turn public opinion against the measure.

Despite the industry’s opposition, public support for the Bigger Better Bottle Bill continued to grow.  Over the course of seven years, the list of endorsers grew to include more than 700 organizations, businesses, and municipalities and more than 20 newspaper editorial boards.  Three independent public opinion surveys found that more than 80% of New Yorkers supported the Bigger Better Bottle Bill.  The coalition, together with hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who participated in the campaign in one way or another — whether by joining a litter cleanup, signing a petition, or coming to a lobby day in Albany — ultimately prevailed.

Thank Yous All Around

On April 22nd, 2009, NYPIRG’s senior environmental associate Laura Haight joined Governor David Paterson, Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, and environmental leaders from across the state at an Earth Day awards ceremony to celebrate the passage of the Bigger Better Bottle Bill. We could not have achieved this important environmental victory without the leadership, cooperation and commitment of the Governor, Assembly and Senate.

Individual legislators who deserve special mention for their efforts are Senator Antoine Thompson and Assemblymember Bob Sweeney, who chair the Senate and Assembly Environmental Conservation Committees, respectively; former Assemblyman (now State Comptroller) Thomas P. DiNapoli and Senator Kenneth LaValle, who introduced the Bigger Better Bottle Bill in 2002; and all the legislators over the years who have shown their support by either cosponsoring or voting for this legislation.  Please let your state legislators know you appreciate their support!

Most of all, we want to thank all the people who joined in the campaign for the Bigger Better Bottle Bill.  David-and-Goliath victories like this can’t be accomplished without a major coalition effort and the support and involvement of the public.  Words cannot describe all the energy and passion that went into this campaign, and all the people who contributed to the effort in so many ways, so we have assembled some of our favorite photographs.  Thanks to everyone who played a part in this campaign we will have a cleaner and healthier New York, and inspire other states to follow our lead.

For more about the new and improved New York State Bottle Bill, click here.
To read the Bottle Bill Victory News Release, click here.