April 27, 2008
Battle over bottle bills:
5-cent deposit law beaten back repeatedly in Granite State
New Hampshire could become the "old man" of New England with regard to bottle bill legislation if Rhode Island lawmakers pass a 5-cent deposit law now before them.
But while the Granite State — where the "Live Free or Die" slogan on every license plate trumpets Yankee independence — could become an odd state out, that's not a bad thing, according to industry experts like longtime lobbyist Clark Corson.
Corson has spent nearly four decades fighting "bottle bill" laws, which he said would blunt the competitive edge New Hampshire's bottling and distribution industry currently enjoys.
New Hampshire leads the nation in "bottle" sales, he said. Along with bottled drinks, that can include canned and other beverages.
The bottle bill laws most prevalent in the region charge customers an extra 5 cent "deposit" for a bottled beverage. Customers are able to recoup that 5 cents by turning the bottle or can in for recycling. After the bottle or can is returned, distributors pay about three cents to recycle each one.
Corson said he's seen roughly 24 attempts at passing some form of "bottle bill" — or, as he calls it, a front-end tax — in the Granite State. Two bottle bills were defeated this year alone.
"Our margins at retail of beer in New Hampshire, particularly in Massachusetts, is very narrow, but it is still enough — even given the price of gas — to attract non-residents into New Hampshire," Corson said. "The trickle-down spinoff effect of that spending is clearly a golden goose for our state, and our state, and governors, have recognized it as such."
A proposed 1-cent levy on beverage containers in New Hampshire would have applied to soda, juice and bottled water, with exemptions for milk, baby formula, wine and liquor under one proposed bill. It died in the House in February despite supporters' arguments that a penny was a small price to pay for raising money to boost recycling efforts throughout the state.
Opponents — including Corson and the New Hampshire Grocers Association — said it wasn't fair to tax the beverage industry when its products are more likely to be recycled than many others.
The second bill defeated this year, also in February, would have required a 5-cent-per-bottle deposit similar to that in Maine, Massachusetts and Vermont. The deposit would have applied to "any ready-to-drink" container, including juice, milk, beer, liquor, wine and formula.
Corson said he believes the consistent defeat of such legislation is indicative of both New Hampshire's business sense and the strength of the state's existing recycling efforts.
For years, the argument in favor of such legislation has been that a 5-cent deposit would prompt people to return bottles for recycling. Meanwhile, those who didn't do so already would have paid toward the container's recycling later.
Bottle bill supporters have argued that the state's recycling efforts aren't strong enough. In New Hampshire, about 800,000 tons of aluminum, or roughly 45 percent of aluminum containers sold in the state, went unrecycled in 2005, according to figures released this year by the state Department of Environmental Services. That was less recycling than in 1992, when about 32 percent of aluminum went unrecycled.
The volume of bottle sales has risen in the years since, and it's not clear what other factors may have affected the 2005 figures.
For instance, state studies indicate 40 percent of bottle buyers live outside New Hampshire, and with the increase in sales tied to those external buyers, some of the declining percentage of recycling could be a result of those consumers recycling items in their home states.
Corson stressed that the bottling industry already is donating millions to a fund called New Hampshire the Beautiful, created to help towns with recycling.
"In 1978, then vice president of the state Senate, John Savile, sponsored a group called New Hampshire the Beautiful, and it's participated in by retail grocers, soft drink distributors and beer distributors," Corson said. "Since its inception in 1978, it's given $2.6 million in grants to towns to help them become efficient in recycling."
Passing a bottle bill would end that contribution, he said.
However, a federal bill before the U.S. House could require all states to adopt some form of bottle bill.
Titled H.R. 4238, the "Bottle Recycling Climate Protection Act of 2007" is a proposed amendment to the Solid Waste Disposal Act. It would levy a 5 cent deposit — adjustable for inflation — on all beverage containers. While states that already have a deposit program in place will be exempt, those without programs would be forced to create them.
No New Hampshire legislators are listed as sponsors of H.R. 4238.
