Marking the 500th day since the Department of Environmental Conservation released its once-in-a-decade “Solid Waste Management Plan,” a coalition of environmental, charities, and small businesses on Monday called on the State Senate and Assembly to pass the Bigger, Better, Bottle Bill (S.5684/A.6543) and the “Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act” (S.1464/A.1749).
The groups cited the failure of the state to attack the mounting packaging and beverage container trash crisis as a compelling rationale for legislative action this session. All of the state’s landfills are set to fill up within the next 25 years, but there’s no plan in place to reduce waste and stave off a crisis. The groups urged approval of packaging and bottle bill legislation to help curb New York’s mounting garbage problem.
Approval of the “Bigger, Better, Bottle Bill” would benefit state revenues, save local taxpayers money, support struggling businesses, and charities that provide critical services to the needy. Among other measures, the bill expands the current redemption system from just carbonated beverages and water to all containers, other than dairy and 100% juice beverages. It raises the deposit from a nickel to a dime, which will result in a dramatic increase in returned containers – thus reducing litter and trash to be dumped.
According to the coalition, the “Bigger, Better, Bottle Bill” will benefit:
Taxpayers: The Bigger, Better Bottle Bill expansion provides major financial benefits to New York’s municipalities as well as the state. Research recently estimated that expanding the law could save New York’s municipalities between $40 million and $100 million annually through waste diversion while recycling an additional 5.5 billion containers. Expansion could also generate as much as $100 million to support environmental programs.
Businesses: The bill would also provide badly-needed support to struggling redemption center businesses. According to a recent estimate, over 100 redemption centers have closed due to the state’s failure to regularly update the “handling fee” – which hasn’t been increased since 2009. The legislation would update the fee to reflect inflation.
Charities: There are over 1,000 charities whose fundraising includes the redemption of unredeemed beverage containers. The charities view the Bigger, Better, Bottle Bill as a way to boost revenues for vital services for the needy.
Moreover, individuals who work to collect and return unredeemed containers (“canners”) would see a significant increase in their ability to supplement their incomes to help cover rising costs.
Environmentalists cited research which showed that the legislation would “lead to an additional 5.5 billion beverage containers recycled and diverted from disposal (e.g., landfill, incineration) or littered annually’”; would reduce greenhouse gas emissions in New York State to the equivalent to removing 83,500 gasoline-power passenger vehicles from the road per year”; and, would lead to an approximate 34% litter reduction for beverage containers across New York state.”
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