Editorial

Expand the bottle bill

THE BOTTLE BILL in Massachusetts is 27 years old, and it shows. Passed at a time when the most common eyesores on roadsides were soda cans and beer bottles, the nickel-per-container law does not require deposits on bottled water, tea, sports drinks, and fruit juices - beverages that are now ubiquitous. The Legislature should extend the law to cover all these products, as New York and Maine have done.

A bill by Representative Alice Wolf of Cambridge would do more than expand the bottle bill. About $37 million in deposits goes unredeemed each year, and that number would rise if more beverages are covered. Wolf’s bill would use some of the new money to increase the fees that go to stand-alone redemption centers, which are struggling because the amount they receive - less than 2 cents per can or bottle - has not risen since 1991. She would also provide up to $20 million to help cities and towns with curbside recycling.

Governor Romney raided the unclaimed deposit fund to balance the budget in 2003, and the money has never been restored. Meanwhile, the recycling rate in Massachusetts has stalled at less than 40 percent of household trash. With more money from the state, towns could adopt more convenient recycling methods that don’t require residents to separate paper, plastic, metal, and glass items. Towns and cities could also use more state aid to switch to “pay as you throw’’ trash pickup. Residents who pay for each bag of garbage they put out have a strong incentive to recycle.

Updating the bottle bill is crucial to reducing roadside litter and the amount of trash going into landfills or incinerators. The measure should be expanded to include common drinks that are now exempt - but shouldn’t be.

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2009/09/28/expand_the_bottle_bill/