October 14, 2008
Redemption centers seek return on bottles, cans
BEVERLY — As Mike Kessel sits among the thousands of empty containers in his Beverly Bottle & Can Return redemption center on West Dane Street, business appears to be brisk.
But Kessel says appearances can be deceiving when your profits are counted by the penny.
Kessel was among the approximately 25 redemption center owners who protested in front of the Statehouse last week in an effort to increase the 21âÑ4-cent handling fee they are paid for every bottle and can. He said the fee has not been raised in 17 years, making it difficult for operators to keep up with the rising costs of doing business.
"We're not asking for the world," Kessel said. "We're just asking to keep up with the world."
Kessel pays people 5 cents for every bottle and can they bring to his center, which is located in the Clemenzi Industrial Park. His employees sort and package the items and deliver them to processing plants in Danvers, Lakeville and Taunton.
The companies that produce those cans and bottles, like Coca-Cola and Budweiser, re-pay Kessel his 5 cents, plus a 21âÑ4-cent handling fee. That fee is set by the state's Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, which oversees the system under the 1981 Beverage Container Recovery Law, better known as the Bottle Bill.
Kessel said the 21âÑ4-cent profit is no longer enough in the face of soaring energy costs. He said some states require the distributors to drive to the redemption center to collect their bottles and cans. In Massachusetts it's the other way around, putting the burden of high gas prices on the centers.
"Diesel fuel has doubled," he said.
The state subsidizes the redemption centers with grant money, but Kessel said his grant has gone from $30,000 to $9,400.
Kessel has another option. Unlike stores, which must pay the state-mandated 5 cents for returned containers, redemption centers are allowed to set their own rate. Kessel said some centers have lowered their payout to 4 cents, but he doesn't want to go that route.
"We have unwed mothers and retirees on fixed income and the homeless coming in here," he said. "I think they'd say, 'I understand,' but I don't want to do that to people."
Kessel said he and another redemption center owner were invited inside the Statehouse last week during their protest and spoke to an aide to Gov. Deval Patrick. But Kessel said it's difficult to fight the lobbying efforts of companies like Coca-Cola and Budweiser who oppose paying a higher fee.
A spokeswoman for the state Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, the agency that sets the handling fee, said officials are conducting a "broad review" of the state's solid waste management program, including the bottle bill.
"At this point," spokeswoman Lisa Capone said, "there are no plans for changing the redemption center handling fee."
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