Cleaner Communities | Healthier Environment | Support for Environmental Programs
Background
The bottle bill is New York’s most effective recycling and litter control program. Since 1982, more than 90 billion bottles and cans have been returned and recycled in New York because of the 5-cent refundable deposit on beer and soda containers. The bottle bill has worked hand in hand with local recycling programs to make our communities cleaner and healthier places to live.
We all share responsibility for keeping our communities clean and healthy. State legislators need to do their part by updating the current bottle bill. Nearly three billion bottles and cans end up in the trash or polluting our state’s rivers, beaches and neighborhoods each year because of a loophole in our current laws that the politicians in Albany have failed to close.
It’s time to make New York’s most successful litter prevention and recycling program even more effective. Because the bottle bill was enacted in 1982, before bottled water and sports drinks became popular, it did not include non-carbonated beverages. Today, these drinks account for more than 25% of the market, and sales are growing rapidly. It makes no sense for a bottle of sparkling water to be covered under the bottle bill and a bottle of plain water to end up as pollution.
In 2002, groups launched a campaign to pass the “Bigger Better Bottle Bill.” More than 600 groups, local governments, and businesses are calling on state law-makers to update the bottle bill to include bottled water and other non-carbonated beverages that were left out of the original law. The Bigger Better Bottle Bill would also require beverage companies to transfer unclaimed bottle deposits to the state’s Environmental Protection Fund to support clean air, water, parks and open space. Currently, beverage companies hold on to any unclaimed deposits, keeping more than $140 million a year, according to some estimates.
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Urge the New York State Legislature to support cleaner communities, a healthier environment, and increased funding for environmental programs by passing the Bigger Better Bottle Bill (A8044-A/S5850-A) before they adjourn on June 23rd, 2008.
Cleaner Communities
The original purpose of the bottle bill was to control the growing problem of litter. As the beverage industry shifted from refillable bottles to disposable containers, New Yorkers began seeing more and more bottles and cans polluting our streams and rivers and broken glass in our streets and playgrounds.
The bottle bill has been tremendously successful in cleaning up our communities. The deposit provides an economic incentive for people to return their beverage containers rather than discard them. Immediately after the bottle bill passed, total litter rates dropped by 30%, with a 70% reduction in beverage container litter. Unfortunately, the bottle bill has not kept up with the times. Today, non-carbonated beverages make up more than one-quarter of the beverage market, and a disproportionate amount of our litter. Litter surveys conducted by NYPIRG and other groups found that nearly two-thirds of the bottles and retrieved in litter cleanups around New York State are non-deposit containers. NYPIRG’s survey conducted in fall 2007 found that these containers made up more than 10% of the total litter volume. The Bigger Better Bottle Bill will prevent litter and make our communities cleaner.
Healthier Environment
With an average return rate of over 70%, the bottle bill is by far New York’s most effective recycling program. Since 1982, more than six million tons of glass, plastic, and metal have been recycled through the bottle bill, conserving natural resources and energy and reducing the amount of waste sent to landfills. The bottle bill saves taxpayers money by making beverage companies responsible for the waste they generate, rather than placing the burden on local governments.
Today, New Yorkers have more recycling choices because most communities now have curbside recycling. However, curbside programs are not effective at capturing single-serve beverage containers. That’s because thirst-quenchers like bottled water and sports drinks are typically consumed and discarded away from home. Less than 20% of non-deposit beverage containers end up in recycling bins. In contrast, an estimated 80% of deposit containers are recycled - 70% through the bottle bill, and another 10% through curbside programs.
Updating the bottle bill to include non-carbonated beverages would ensure that almost 3 billion additional bottles and cans will get recycled in New York each year. In plastic bottles alone, this would save roughly 600,000 barrels of crude oil and 20,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year. The Bigger Better Bottle Bill will increase recycling and save taxpayers money.
Support for Environmental Programs
Currently, beverage companies are keeping an estimated $140 million each year in unclaimed deposits from bottles and cans that are not returned. New York is out of step with many other states, which require beverage companies to return unclaimed bottle deposits to benefit the public. The Bigger Better Bottle Bill would direct unclaimed deposits to the State Environmental Protection Fund (EPF), a dedicated trust fund for New York’s environment. The EPF supports local recycling programs, parks, waterfront revitalization, open space, farmland preservation, and other programs to protect our land, air, and water. Currently, New York’s environmental funding needs far outpace existing resources. The Bigger Better Bottle Bill will generate at least $100 million a year to support the Environmental Protection Fund, and by some estimates more than $200 million. .
For more information about the bottle bill, go to:
Container Recycling Institute: http://www.bottlebill.org
N.Y.S. Department of Environmental Conservation: http://www.dec.ny.gov