April 22, 2009
Conn. Prepares To Implement Bottle Bill
Bill To Take Effect In October
WINDSOR, Conn. -- Connecticut is about to become one of a handful of states that recycles not just soda bottles and cans, but water bottles as well.The so-called bottle bill was supposed to take effect in April, but the date has been pushed back to October to give manufacturers time to get "5-cent deposit" written on the side of the bottle.
Environmental groups, such as the Sierra Club, are thrilled that water bottles will soon be recycled at stores in the state. Members of the Sierra Club said it takes about three liters of water to produce one plastic bottle. The bottle bill was passed in February. It mandates a 5-cent deposit on bottled, flavored and vitamin water.Jessi Stratton, who works for the Sierra Club, said she and other environmental lobbyists have been working for a decade to get the bill passed. When the law goes into effect this fall, she said, it will be an environmental milestone."This will mean that there are about 500 million containers sold in Connecticut that will now be subject to the bottle redemption law," she said.Stratton estimates that 70 percent of the 500 million containers will be returned to Connecticut stores and recycled into items such as polar fleeces and other recycled plastics. Right now, she said, water bottles are burned in dumps."When we burn it in Connecticut, we are contributing to the emissions of those trash-to-energy plants and to global warming and air pollution," she said.But there are some kinks that still need to be worked out. The owner of Geissler's Supermarket, a family-run grocery chain, said recycling the bottles is a lot of work for the staff. The owner said the store deserves a larger chunk of the deposit back.That issue is currently being discussed by the Legislature.
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