Massachusetts legislature considers legislation that would replace bottle bill

Massachusetts legislature considers legislation that would replace bottle bill
<![CDATA[

According to an article by The Associated Press (AP) that appeared in the Boston Herald, the Massachusetts legislature is considering a proposal that seeks to replace the state’s 33-year-old beverage container deposit law.

The bill has the support of food and beverage industry groups, which were encouraged by the 2014 defeat of a ballot question that would have expanded the commonwealth’s bottle bill, according to article.

The bill would eliminate the 5-cent deposits consumers pay on soft drink and beer containers and would replace it with a three-year, 1-cent-per-container fee that would be paid by beverage distributors and wholesalers. The collected fees would be deposited in a fund that would help cities and towns develop single-stream recycling programs, The AP writes.

Nicole Giambusso of the Massachusetts Beverage Association tells the AP the 1-cent fee would raise and estimated $114 million for recycling programs, which critics of the proposed legislation say would not be nearly enough to fund the recycling programs proposed by supporters of the legislation.

Massachusetts’ overall redemption rate for deposit containers was nearly 68 percent in 2011; by 2015 the rate had declined to 59 percent. “The willingness of more consumers to forego deposits in favor of home recycling could well be playing a role in the drop,” according to the article.

Unclaimed deposits are transferred to the state treasury and are estimated at $39.5 million in the fiscal year ending July 1, the AP reports.

Janet Domenitz of the Massachusetts Public Interest Group tells the AP she hopes the legislature will consider a different approach that could end refundable deposits in six years if there is proof that new recycling methods are as effective as the deposit law. 

]]>
Source: Recycling Today
Massachusetts legislature considers legislation that would replace bottle bill
<![CDATA[According to an article by The Associated Press (AP) that appeared in the Boston Herald, the Massachusetts legislature is considering a proposal that seeks to replace the state’s 33-year-old beverage container deposit law. The bill has the support of food and beverage industry groups, which were encouraged by the 2014 defeat of a ballot question that would have expanded the commonwealth’s bottle bill, according to article. The bill would eliminate the 5-cent deposits consumers pay on soft drink and beer containers and would replace it with a three-year, 1-cent-per-container fee that would be paid by beverage distributors and wholesalers. The collected fees would be deposited in a fund that would help cities and towns develop single-stream recycling programs, The AP writes. Nicole Giambusso of the Massachusetts Beverage Association tells the AP the 1-cent fee would raise and estimated $114 million for recycling programs, which critics of the proposed legislation say would not be nearly enough to fund the recycling programs proposed by supporters of the legislation. Massachusetts’ overall redemption rate for deposit containers was nearly 68 percent in 2011; by 2015 the rate had declined to 59 percent. “The willingness of more consumers to forego deposits in favor of home…