Bottle Bill Day at the State House
7
The hallways are packed this morning at the State House with supporters of the bottle bill! It’s great to see such passion.
I wrote a letter of support for House Bill B3515, An Act to improve recycling rates in the Commonwealth, which is being heard at 11 am by the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy. The bill expands the current container redeposit system to include “new age” drinks such as water, sports drink, and juices. The bill would also increase the handling fee to 3.25cents in an attempt to revive redemption centers which have shown a recent trend in closures due to increased operating costs. In other states where the bottle bill has been changed or implemented there has been a 70-85% reduction in beverage container litter and a 30-35% reduction in overall litter. I believe this bill is crucial for the continued preservation of the ecology of the Commonwealth.
For more information on the bill and local reactions, here are some relevant articles:
Bottle Bill Bottled Up – Boston Globe
South Shore support for Bottle Bill update swells – Kingston Reporter
