October 6, 2009
Norton seeks its very own bottle bill
NORTON - Selectmen say adding a 5-cent deposit on bottled water and energy and sports drinks would boost recycling and reduce litter in public areas.
Selectmen are supporting a resolution to update Massachusetts' bottle bill to include such drinks, which weren't prevalent when the state added the nickel deposit to soda and beer containers in 1982.
The Massachusetts Recycling Coalition is leading the effort to ask leaders in every community to sign the pledge. The Massachusetts chapter of the Sierra Club, a nonprofit environmental group, is supporting the effort. Sierra Club executive committee member Phillip Sego told Norton selectmen recently that he believed 89 communities had signed the resolution or something similar.
Locally, Foxboro and Wrentham had supported the resolution as of Sept. 29, according to MassRecycling's Web site.
Norton Selectmen Vice Chairman Robert Kimball Jr. said the updated bill would create jobs by increasing the demand for redemption centers, and reduce "the amount of trash that's thrown on our streets and highways. I strongly believe that we need to take a very proactive approach." The state Department of Environmental Protection estimates that an updated bottle bill would save municipalities a total of almost $4.3 million to $7 million in "litter abatement, avoided collection and disposal/recycling costs."
Water, juice and energy and sport drinks "now represent over 30 percent of the beverages sold in Massachusetts and are the fastest growing segment of the beverage industry," according to the DEP's Web site.
http://www.thesunchronicle.com/articles/2009/10/06/news/6215612.txt
