History of the Bottle Bill: Part 11982: First container deposit law for soda, beer passed vetoed by Gov. King, overturned by referendum “end of times” predicted by industry didn’t happen

1990: Redemption centers receive first and last increase in handling fee, from 1¢ to 2.25¢/container

~1996: First bill to expand definition to non-carbonated beverages filed Filed and sent to “study” every session since, until…

2010: Updated Bottle Bill reported out of TUE Committee 2 weeks before end of session

Died in Senate Ways & Means Committee

2011: Large and growing coalition advocating for HB890 (Rep. Wolf, Sen. Creem)

Governor Patrick MassDEP 16 Senate, 66 House cosponsors 65 organizations 170+ municipalities, including Boston 77% of 1/11 MassINC poll respondents

History of the Bottle Bill: Part 2

Legislative Process • Legislator files bill, seeks cosponsors• Bill assigned to committee (Telecommunications, Utilities

and Energy for UBB)• (TUE) Committee holds hearing• If (TUE) Committee reports out favorably with edits…• Other committees review - Rules, Ways & Means, Third

Reading. If they edit and release and …• If House Speaker brings to floor, • Senate President brings to floor and it gets majority vote, • Conference committee reconciles differences• Governor signs bill

What’s in H890 Adds to the deposit /refund system:

non-alcoholic noncarbonated beverage containers (flavored and unflavored waters, juice, tea, sports drinks)

excludes dairy-derived products, infant formula, medicines; paper-based and multi-layer aseptic packaging.

Exempts small dealers from redemption requirement

Raises handling fee from 2.25¢ to 3.25¢, adds review mechanism

Revives Clean Environment Fund - unclaimed deposits to fund waste reduction and other environmental programs

Bottle Bill effectsDeposits recover 70% of containers

~5% recycled at curb~25% of nondeposit containers are recycled

Few recycling options away from home~9 times more likely to be littered

Costly for municipalities to manage – litter, trashMassDEP Study estimates $4-7Million/year

Redemption system creates jobsRecovering containers saves energy, resources, and

reduces greenhouse gas emissionsUpdate ~1 billion more containers to deposit system

The oppositionIndustry opposes paying

handling fee, giving unclaimed deposits to State.

“Archaic, inefficient, ineffective, costly”

Municipal programs “more efficient”

“Costly to consumers”“tax”, “money grab by state”“0.4%-<2% of waste stream”

(actually 3-4%, ~200K TPY)

The UBB Coalition

Save municipalities $

Increase recycling

Reduce litter

77% of polled adults support

It’s time to bring it to the floor for a vote

League of Women VotersMass Municipal AssociationEnvironmental League of

Mass.60 other orgs.

What can we do?Municipal resolution – is your town on the list?Go to www.massrecycle.org/bottlebill Contact your State Senator, Representative

EVERY PHONE CALL MATTERS617-722-2000 www.malegislature.gov Did they co-sponsor? (Thanks) Will they tell the House Speaker/ Senate President they

support? (Please)Are they on the TUE Committee? (next slide - “Please

report H890 out soon”)Watch the MassRecycle listserve for Action Alerts

Senate MembersJennifer L. FlanaganEileen DonoghueJames B. EldridgeMichael R. Knapik

House MembersJohn H. RogersThomas A. Golden Jr.Walter F. TimiltyStephen L. DiNataleCarlo P. BasileTackey ChanJohn J. MahoneyPaul AdamsRandy Hunt

Joint Committee on Telecommunication, Utilities and Energy 617-722-1625

Claire Sullivan, Executive Director

781.329.8318

ssrecyclingcoop@verizon.net

Thank you