August 14, 2008
Redemption center owners concerned for their future
By: James Perucci
OAKVILLE - Fran's Cans and Bottles on Main Street in Oakville was visited by State Senator Rob Kane R-32nd) and State Representative Sean Williams (R-68th) on Thursday, August 7 to discuss the squeeze being put on Connecticut's can and bottle redemption centers, of which there are only 14 remaining.
Currently, when a redeemable container is purchased in Connecticut, the customer pays a five-cent bottle deposit and they get this back when they choose to recycle it, which is paid by the redemption center. In turn, the redemption center receives a processing fee on top of the redemption value from the beverage distribution company when they pick up the sorted bags of cans and bottles. However, that is if the beverage distributors decide to retrieve them from the redemption center.
Francis Bartholomew, the owner of Fran's Cans and Bottles, while gesturing to the large piles of thousands of cleaned and sorted cans, said, "It's an abomination, how we are being treated."
As processing fees have remained stagnant since 1978, costs for labor and the bags used to contain the cans and bottles have risen significantly and are still moving upward. John Ancheff, owner of D.J.'s Redemption Center in Waterbury, said he is on the verge of closing.
While waiting for state legislators to arrive, Mr. Bartholomew recounted other previous lapses in payment and collection of containers he has experienced with distributors.
It has become the foundation for this embittered perception of the companies he does business with, the lobbying group Sullivan and LeShane, which represents beverage companies in Connecticut and the state government alike.
"Beverage companies have too much money and too much power," said Mr. Bartholomew. "They can abuse us and do whatever they want. Right now, key politicians are being paid to block the expansion of the bottle bill."
Expansion and an update of the bottle bill is what Mr. Bartholomew and Mr. Ancheff have primarily been fighting for over the last few years, having called the state Department of Environmental Protection and e-mailing every member of the Connecticut congress hundreds of times, citing the outdated nature of existing law as well as Connecticut's low processing fees for cans and bottles compared to the surrounding states. Connecticut's handling fee, at one and a half cents, is the lowest in the region. Massachusetts provides two and a quarter cents, Maine and Vermont pay three and half cents and New York two cents.
Past iterations of the bill's expansion, which would enhance Connecticut's handling fees and put redemption values on non-carbonated beverage containers, have always faced stiff opposition from beverage distribution companies, the Connecticut Food Association and various grocer organizations.
Placing cash redemption on plastic water bottles is estimated to cost retailers and distributors approximately $30 million, a cost which would most likely be passed on to consumers. The most recent proposal failed due to lack of support from House Speaker James A. Amann, D-Milford, according to Mr. Bartholomew, and relevant legislation has not reached the floor in the past year.
Sen. Kane and Rep. Williams arrived to have Mr. Anchetta and Mr. Bartholomew explain the plight of redemption centers that is enabled by the lack of redeemable value on plastic containers and ineffective laws.
"The bottle bill states this, distributors are supposed to pay 20 days from the time they pick up. In order for this to work, every distributor has to pick up once a week. The bottle bill does not state that and when we're fronting all this money, all our capital goes out. I had Pepsi not pay me for 45 days; I had to call the state," said Mr. Bartholomew.
Currently, there are no legal stipulations to motivate distribution companies from picking up returned containers. As it stands right now, for every bottle that is not returned or claimed represents money that goes straight to beverage companies.
"The problem with the bill is that it was made in 1978 and it hasn't been advanced; it's a law that has no standardization or ramifications for anything," said Mr. Bartholomew. "The fine is for the first offense is $50, and then the next time is $100."
The bill was also written before the time of bottled water; part of the most recent failed bill expansion was to include containers for non-carbonated beverages.
Nearing the end of their visit, Rep. Williams and Sen. Kane offered a tentative support towards working for a more effective bottle bill. They reinforced that Mr. Ancheff and Mr. Bartholomew need bigger numbers behind them and the possibility of uniting all the redemption centers to counteract the lobbying efforts of the beverage companies to get more attention from the legislature. However, they were reminded that they would have to wait until the Connecticut congress reconvenes in January to present their cases once again.
"We've met with Governor Rell and other members of the Senate and House. The verdict is were supposed to believe in a political system and that's supposed to help us after 30 years," said Mr. Ancheff.
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