May 18, 2010
Nickel Deposit For Bottled Water?
Environmentalists Say Yes; Industry Opposes
BOSTON --
It used to be soda cans. Now the ever-present beverage of choice seems to be contained in a plastic water bottle.It's a multi-billion dollar industry. But what happens to those bottles once they are emptied? Proponents of an expanded bottle bill want to make sure they don't end up in a landfill, incinerator or on the street."Everyone agrees we should be getting off of fossil fuels, and conserving resources," said Janet Domenitz of the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group."Because we don't put a nickel deposit on these containers, they are piling up in garbage cans and ending up in landfills or incinerators. It's a travesty," she said.That's why environmentalists are supporting a proposed bill in the legislature that would expand the state's almost 30-year-old bottle redemption law. They want to include the ubiquitous water bottle and other non-carbonated beverage containers. Only about 30 percent of the state's nonredeemables are recycled. Seventy-five percent of redeemables are recycled.The beverages industry opposes the proposal. "The bottle bill is just a disaster," said Chris Crowley of Polar Beverages in Worcester, and president of the Massachusetts Beverage Association. Companies like his have to pay for collecting and transporting redeemables, and then recycle them. "It's enormously inefficient and expensive, and it's basically charged to the consumer," he said.Plus the state gets back a nickel for every container that isn't redeemed, about $37 million a year. "All that extra revenue will go directly into the general fund as it does now. That's a giant sinkhole," said Crowley.Proponents of the bill said those funds will help cities and towns expand redemption centers and help bolster curbside recycling."It's an environmental bill first and foremost. But it's an anti-litter bill. It will save cities and towns money, and we just have some big beverage companies in the way," said Domenitz.All sides agree that more recycling and less garbage is the goal. But whether nickels for water bottles is part of the problem or the solution will be up to the legislature. http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/23600620/detail.html
