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For Immediate Release
May 10, 2006

For More Information Contact:
Laura Haight, NYPIRG, 436-0876, x258
(cell) 588-5481

ASSEMBLY PASSES BIGGER, BETTER, BOTTLE BILL
BY TWO TO ONE MARGIN

Environmental Groups and Elected Officials Applaud Assembly
and Call On State Senate To Pass the Bill This Year

Environmental groups and elected officials praised the New York State Assembly for passing the Bigger, Better, Bottle Bill (A2517D-DiNapoli) today, and called on the State Senate to take up the measure this session.

After a three and a half hour floor debate, the Assembly passed the Bigger, Better Bottle Bill by a vote of 91 to 45, with broad-based bipartisan support. This is the second year that the Assembly has backed the bill; last year it passed on June 20th, just days before the session ended. The bill, which has six majority Senate cosponsors (S1290D-LaValle) and strong support among the Senate minority, now goes to the Senate.

“The New York State Assembly has always been a leader in environmental stewardship. Today’s vote extends the Assembly’s long history of protecting our environment for future generations,” said bill sponsor Assemblyman Thomas P. DiNapoli (D-Great Neck).

“It is extremely important that we continue efforts to protect and preserve our environment. Improvements to the bottle bill will not only encourage proper disposal of bottles, but will steer additional dollars to the Environmental Protection Fund and further enhance the ability of local governments to improve the quality of life within their communities,” said bill sponsor Senator Kenneth P. LaValle (R-Selden).

“The bottle bill is the single most effective recycling and anti-litter law that we have. It is time to improve the law by adding deposits on non-carbonated beverages and using the unclaimed nickels to bolster the Environmental Protection Fund. I applaud the State Assembly for passing this vitally important legislation and urge the Senate to do the same,” said New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer.

The bill has the backing of environmentalists, civic groups, farmers, local governments, and many small businesses.

“We are enormously grateful to Assemblyman DiNapoli for his hard work and leadership on this issue,” said Laura Haight, senior environmental associate for NYPIRG. “We applaud the Assembly for supporting cleaner communities and more recycling in New York State, and urge the Senate to take up this important measure. Each year that legislators fail to close the “litter loophole,” nearly two billion bottles and cans end up in the trash or polluting our rivers, parks and communities.”

“Passage of the Bigger, Better Bottle Bill, one of the environmental community’s four ‘Super Bills,’ is a tremendous achievement,” said Rob Moore, executive director of Environmental Advocates of New York. “Assemblyman DiNapoli’s leadership on this legislation should be applauded. We thank everyone who supported this common-sense bill for recognizing that New York needs to expand our current bottle law to match the drinking habits of today’s consumers.”

Theresa Cassiack, Legislative Associate, Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter, said: “The Sierra Club thanks Assemblyman DiNapoli for his work to get the plastic drink bottles and broken bottle glass off our shorelines, playgrounds and streets. We thank the Assemblymembers who voted to protect our children and our environment by reducing litter and increasing recycling. Finally, we call on the Senate leadership to put the interests of our children and the environment first and stop stalling action on the Bigger, Better, Bottle Bill."

"It's encouraging to know that our representatives in the Assembly responded to the grassroots campaign of the people of New York," said Barbara Toborg, Conservation Coordinator for the Northeast Chapter of the American Littoral Society. "Common sense carried the day!"

“We applaud the New York State Assembly for its overwhelming endorsement of an updated bottle bill,” said Jennifer Gitlitz, research director for the Container Recycling Institute. “This popular and effective recycling and litter prevention program deserves to be voted on by the full Senate.”

The “Bigger, Better Bottle Bill” (A2517D, DiNapoli/S1290D LaValle) would extend the current 5-cent container deposit law to include non-carbonated beverages like bottled water and iced tea. It would also require beverage companies to return the unclaimed deposits to the state to fund recycling and other environmental protection programs.

The Bottle Bill is New York’s most effective litter prevention and recycling program. As soon as the law went into effect, New Yorkers could see the difference—fewer bottles and cans along roadsides, less broken glass in streets and playgrounds, cleaner beaches and parks. Driven by the nickel deposit, more than 90 billion bottles and cans have been returned and recycled in New York since 1982 instead of polluting our communities or ending up in landfills. The 70% return rate enjoyed by the bottle bill far exceeds municipal recycling rates in New York.

The Bigger, Better, Bottle Bill enjoys tremendous popular support, with endorsements from more than 350 local governments, small businesses, and a broad range of groups from across New York State. Polls show that most New Yorkers support this proposal. However, the bill has faced stiff opposition from well-financed industry groups such as beer wholesalers, soda and beverage companies, and supermarkets and convenience stores.

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See also:
Breakdown of votes
New York Bigger Better Bottle Bill Campaign

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