National legislation that couples beverage container deposits with a minimum recovery rate is long overdue. If passed, Senator Jeffords Senate Bill 2220, the National Beverage Producer Responsibility Act of 2002, will fill this gap. The bill, introduced on Earth Day, calls for a minimum 80% recovery level and would set per container deposits on beverage containers at 10 cents. Furthermore, it is the first national bill on beverage containers to include an incentive to refill containers. Given the environmental advantages of refillable beverage containers over “one-way” containers, we are urging Senator Jeffords to strengthen the language in the bill to more directly encourage refilling. Specifically we’d like to see the bill provide financial incentives to companies that convert to refilling.
Click here for a copy of Senate Bill 2220.
For a copy of ILSR’s written testimony: Click here for Word file Click here for PDF file Click here for online viewing.
For a copy of ILSR’s letter in response to Waste News’s July 22nd editorial “Bottle it for a while,” click here.
