CRI report shows Massachusetts bottle bill law contributes up to $151M to state GDP

CRI report shows Massachusetts bottle bill law contributes up to 1M to state GDP
<![CDATA[

Photo: Dreamstime

The Container Recycling Institute (CRI), Culver City, California, has released a new report that offers insight into the value of the current bottle bill in Massachusetts, which provides refunds to consumers who return empty beverage containers to recycling locations, showing the employment and economic benefits it provides. The CRI has released the report as the Massachusetts Legislature prepares to hold hearings June 13, 2017, on bills to repeal or otherwise revise the commonwealth’s Beverage Container Recovery Law.

Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Industrial Economics Inc. prepared the report, titled “Massachusetts Container Deposit Return System: 2016 Employment and Economic Impacts in the Commonwealth,” for CRI using state data, information from key market actors and two supplemental modeling analyses.

Key findings include:

More than 1.2 billion containers were recovered in 2015, with a commodity value of roughly $19 million. A total of $62.3 million was returned directly to consumers at redemption locations.

The market currently encompasses 1,480 jobs for collecting, transporting and processing bottles and cans into high-quality secondary materials and for manufacturing new glass bottles from recycled glass.

The total value to the commonwealth’s economy ranges from $85 million to $151 million, including direct, indirect and induced effects.

By redirecting containers from the municipal waste stream, the law saves cities and towns roughly $20 million annually, an expense that they would otherwise incur to collect, recycle and dispose of these containers.

“The Ardagh Group glass manufacturing facility in Milford, Massachusetts, receives unparalleled economic and operational benefits as a result of the Massachusetts container deposit law,” says John Riordan, president and CEO of Ardagh Group, Glass – North America.

“Our Milford facility averages 85 percent to 90 percent recycled glass in every bottle it manufactures, which not only reduces the use of raw materials but also significantly lowers the level of energy consumed,” he continues. “Based on the amount of recycled glass Ardagh can purchase and utilize at our other U.S. manufacturing facilities that are not in deposit law regions, we know that a single stream format cannot effectively deliver the quantity and quality of recycled glass we need for our operations.”

State Sen. Ryan Fattman says, “We cannot take any steps that drive companies and jobs to other states. The Ardagh Group facility, located in my district in Milford, provides approximately 240 well-paying glass beverage container manufacturing jobs in this area. Without the commonwealth’s bottle bill, the operations of Ardagh might cease being commercially viable. We need to keep this and other recycling industry companies and jobs right here in Massachusetts.”

The report also addresses the impacts of a repeal of this law in Massachusetts. Based on results from a customized version of CRI’s Measuring the Impact of Recycling on Jobs Calculator (MIRJCalc) and input from Massachusetts recycling companies, the report indicates that in the absence of a bottle bill, most (if not all) of the 1,480 jobs directly associated with managing containers likely would be eliminated or relocated, or workers would have their hours reduced.

Remaining haulers, processors and material recovery facilities (MRFs) also would face increased costs and reduced revenues from the drop in the quality of the materials collected from curbside recycling programs, the CRI says. Glass bottles that are mixed with other recyclables can be contaminated with other materials. This lower-quality glass is worth much less than sorted glass containers, the organization adds. 

CRI President Susan Collins says the report shows that “overall, the job creation and other financial benefits enjoyed under the bottle bill in Massachusetts are considerable, and an alternative system would appear to be costly, with no significant or obvious advantages. A repeal of the bottle bill clearly would set Massachusetts back in terms of employment and the economy.”

Those interested in more details on the Massachusetts report, plus the opportunity to ask questions of Collins and officials from Industrial Economics Inc., are invited to sign up for CRI’s webcast June 14, 2017, at 11 a.m. Pacific time. More information and registration options are available at www.container-recycling.org/index.php/media1/webinars. 

]]>
Source: Recycling Today
CRI report shows Massachusetts bottle bill law contributes up to 1M to state GDP
<![CDATA[Photo: DreamstimeThe Container Recycling Institute (CRI), Culver City, California, has released a new report that offers insight into the value of the current bottle bill in Massachusetts, which provides refunds to consumers who return empty beverage containers to recycling locations, showing the employment and economic benefits it provides. The CRI has released the report as the Massachusetts Legislature prepares to hold hearings June 13, 2017, on bills to repeal or otherwise revise the commonwealth’s Beverage Container Recovery Law. Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Industrial Economics Inc. prepared the report, titled “Massachusetts Container Deposit Return System: 2016 Employment and Economic Impacts in the Commonwealth,” for CRI using state data, information from key market actors and two supplemental modeling analyses. Key findings include: More than 1.2 billion containers were recovered in 2015, with a commodity value of roughly $19 million. A total of $62.3 million was returned directly to consumers at redemption locations.The market currently encompasses 1,480 jobs for collecting, transporting and processing bottles and cans into high-quality secondary materials and for manufacturing new glass bottles from recycled glass.The total value to the commonwealth’s economy ranges from $85 million to $151 million, including direct, indirect and induced effects.By redirecting containers from the municipal waste stream,…