August 24, 2010
State's water bottle fund high and dry
Money from unclaimed nickel deposits short of expectations
SALISBURY -- The state had hoped to raise up to $17 million a year from unclaimed nickel deposits on plastic water bottles, but that revenue stream has slowed to a trickle because people aren't buying water bottles, let alone recycling them.When they do, they appear to be cashing them in instead. The reason is the economy.
If the bottle is redeemed, it goes back to bottlers and the consumer gets the nickel. If it isn't, chances are it will end up in a recycling bin. Each bottle in the recycling stream represents a nickel that goes to the state's thirsty general budget instead of the thrifty consumer's pocket.
When the state introduced a bill in January 2009 to expand the bottle bill to water bottles and take unclaimed nickel deposits into the state treasury, Sen. Donald E. Williams Jr., D-Brooklyn, estimated that it would be worth $13 million a year. When the bill became law in October, other lawmakers said they expected $17 million from the state's share of 550 million bottles sold here every year.
http://www.rep-am.com/articles/2010/08/24/news/local/503024.txt
