May 23, 2007
Reforming of Bottle Bill Faces Hurdles
Don Casciato
Once again efforts at improving the state's bottle bill appear to be at risk of being smashed by special interests.
The Legislature's General Law Committee, which had received a bill on referral because it holds jurisdiction on legislation dealing with commercial and retail matters, recently killed the measure on a 13-4 vote.
However, despite General Law Committee's action, the measure is expected to resurface as an amendment to another bill in the closing days of this session in early June as pressure mounts on legislators. The bill seeks to expand the state's 30-year-old deposit law to include glass and plastic water, juice and sports drink containers.
The bottle reform battle has been fought in other recent sessions and has gone down to defeat or been bottled-up in committee and never came up for a vote.
Such legislation invariably pits business interests against environmentalists who are concerned about mounting litter on the side of Connecticut's highways and other areas where trash and bottles are an eyesore in the state.
Business leaders question the cost of bottle recycling operations and whether the objectives are being met.
Balanced Viewpoint
In a recent interview with the Westport News, as well as past interviews, State Rep. Joe Mioli (D-136), said he favors bottle bill reforms, but worries about small stores and the impact on them if a new bill becomes law. He pointed out that big businesses can handle changes, but space for bottles is limited in small stores.
Mioli, who operated a pizza restaurant before going into politics, represents most of Westport in the General Assembly.
The Container Recycling Institute based in Washington, D.C., presents the case for bottle bills in its mission statement. It states: "Bottle bills are a proven, sustainable method of capturing beverage bottles and cans for recycling. The refund value of the container, which usually is 5 cents but in some cases is 10 cents, provides a monetary incentive to return the container for recycling."
Other advantages of bottle bills, according to recycling institute and other supporters of such legislation, include:
- Supplying recyclable materials for a high-demand market.
- Conserving energy and natural resources.
- Creating new businesses and jobs.
- Reducing waste disposal costs and litter.
Finch Fumes
"When this bill is called on the floor of the House and people are held accountable in the light of the day, not in some little corner of the building here where a few legislators can kill it [then] I am confident of its passage," said state Sen. Bill Finch a Bridgeport Democrat, who also plans to run for mayor of Bridgeport.
The reference to "some littler corner of the building" deals with state lawmakers who recently conducted a committee meeting in the noisy and heavily traversed corridor outside the Hall of the House in the state Capitol.
Finch is Senate chairman of the Environment Committee and one of the bill's most ardent supporters. The proposed legislation won approval in the state Senate 26-7 earlier in May.
And Connecticut certainly isn't alone. In neighboring New York, the state's new governor, Eliot Spitzer, is advocating expansion of the 5-cent deposit on carbonated beverages and beer as well as bottled water, iced tea and sports drinks. The amount of the deposit would stay the same under the Spitzer plan.
But some Republicans in the Empire State believe changes would essentially amount to a new tax. And supermarket and beverage lobbies oppose the legislation.
The nickel-deposit law has been on New York books since 1982. The law also benefits some of the homeless in New York City and it is a familiar site to see a cart filled with bottles as impoverished men and women dig through trash cans for bottles and cans.
In many Connecticut communities, organizations conduct bottle and can drives as residents provide the items when they decide to recover the deposits.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently published a report on municipal recycling in which recycling stakeholders were interviewed. Some of them cited a federal option for recycling.
