Go

Bottle Bills in the News ... By Location ... By Year

THE NEW HAMPSHIRE House will vote tomorrow on a bill that proposes to collect one cent from every "drink container," excluding milk products and baby formula, sold within the state. The amount collected by this container fee is estimated to be about $10 million. Unlike other states that charge a deposit on bottles and cans (aside from the obvious fact that it is not a typical 10- or five-cent deposit, but only a penny) this fee is paid and collected at the wholesale level.

The money raised will be divided into three parts, with the state using directly about $3.5 million for programs, including, but not limited to, training town transfer station operators, public education about recycling, and reclamation of abandoned waste sites. The second part, about $4.5 million, will be divided into several funds and will be used to assist towns to set up better, more efficient recycling programs, including dealing with the growing volume of electronic equipment.

Of the remaining money, $130,000 will be used for recycling education, roadside cleanup and to help non-profit organizations that deal with recycling; $520,000 (5 percent of the total collected) will go toward funding start-up recycling programs and no-interest loans to companies based in New Hampshire that manufacture products from recycled raw materials; and $1.3 million will be used to manage and dispose of hazardous waste that our towns are required by the state and federal government to collect.

Rather than burden our grocery stores with the extra expense of a five-cent deposit, the committee chose a program modeled on New Hampshire's very successful waste oil collection fee, established in 1995. That program charges a penny on every quart of oil imported into New Hampshire. Since the beginning of that program, the waste oil fee has never been raised. Waste oil has been collected, disposed of safely and even reused, rather than merely dumped into the ground. The container fee for beverages is also only a penny and will be just as successful.

It is predicted that New Hampshire will run out of landfill capacity within the next 10 years. Beverage containers, particularly disposable water bottles, are a significant part of the trash that goes into our landfills. Since 2004-05, the actual volume of plastic bottles, due to increased sales of bottled water, has grown by over 20 percent, while New Hampshire's overall beverage container recycling rate has declined. New Hampshire recycles only about 20 percent of its glass bottles and 21 percent of its plastic containers. States with conventional five-cent deposit fees have beverage container recycling rates of anywhere from 65 percent to 90 percent.

What is more alarming is that New Hampshire's overall recycling rate is just over 20 percent, even though the mandated target for the state was to have been a conservative 40 percent by 2000.

Over the last 25 years, "New Hampshire the Beautiful" has run a voluntary program to assist towns with recycling programs. While it does assist some towns with projects, it does not even come close to fulfilling the needs of the state's 220-plus towns and municipalities The total amount expended last year for the entire state was only about $110,000. This year the projected amount is not even $120,000.

Like the successful waste oil fee, the penny beverage container fee is a true user fee, paid by both New Hampshire residents and non-residents, and the money collected will be used to deal with trash and hazardous waste collection and improve recycling rates.

Opponents of this bill have trotted out the same tired complaints. They say it's a new tax. Of all our so-called fees, this penny fee will help towns improve their recycling rates through real improvement in infrastructure, lower trash disposal costs and lower property taxes.

Opponents say it will cause large increases in the price of soft drinks and other beverages; yet the total, additional cost for a 12-pack of soda will only be 12 cents. Opponents say it will discourage business in the state. I don't believe major beverage companies will stop selling their products in New Hampshire. Nor do I believe there will be a decline in sales.

Good recycling and reuse of materials recovered through increased and improved recycling programs can generate a lot of income for our towns, keep local property tax costs down, and create new "green collar" jobs.

This penny fee not only makes good environmental sense, it is just plain, good business.

Rep. James Phinizy, D-Acworth, is chairman of the House Environment and Agriculture Committee.