November 16, 2007
Bergen lawmaker calls for bottle bill
By ALEX NUSSBAUM
A container of Pepsi, Poland Spring or Pabst beer could cost a dime more in New Jersey if a Bergen County legislator gets her way.
To boost recycling, Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle, D-Englewood, wants to add a 10-cent deposit to most beverage containers.
Eleven other states have "bottle bills." Huttle says its time has come in New Jersey, given concerns over dwindling recycling rates and the rise of the bottled-water industry.
"New Jersey has a growing litter problem, probably half of which is recyclable," said Huttle, who introduced the Smart Container Act in the Legislature last week. "You go to the beach at the Jersey Shore and it's appalling. There are bottles all over."
The bill would require consumers to pay a 10-cent deposit on most plastic, metal and glass containers under 24 ounces in size and 20 cents on containers between 24 ounces and a gallon.
Consumers would get the deposits back by returning empty containers to a retailer.
Milk and other dairy products, infant formula and alcoholic drinks other than beer and wine would be exempt.
Besides providing an incentive to recycle, the program could create a windfall for environmental programs. Based on results in other states, Huttle figures $12 million worth of deposits would go unclaimed each year.
The bill would devote three-quarters of that to recycling education, anti-litter efforts and similar programs. The rest would go back to businesses for administering the collections.
"We don't want it to be a burden on the retailer," Huttle said.
The Legislature rejected a bottle bill 20 years ago, but there seems to be more interest this time, said Jeff Tittel of the state Sierra Club. Lawmakers are interested in energy conservation and reducing global warming pollution, he said, and both causes would be advanced by recycling old bottles and cans rather than using virgin materials to make new ones.
The American Beverage Association, a trade group, did not return a call seeking comment. Drink-makers, distributors and retailers have long opposed bottle bills, arguing they're costly for businesses, inconvenient for customers and undermine municipal recycling programs.
Huttle cited studies that found recycling rates rose in states with both deposit laws and municipal programs. That's not the case in New Jersey, where recycling figures have been dropping.
In Clifton, recycling coordinator Alfred DuBois said a bottle bill could save taxpayers money. Plastic bottles take up a lot of space in municipal recycling trucks but are lightweight, so they're less efficient to transport, he said.
He'd like the state to go farther and encourage people to use containers that can be refilled rather than thrown away. Still, a deposit would help motivate people, he said.
"They've put out the money already, so they're not going to keep wasting it," he said.
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