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Expanding New York State's Bottle Bill to Benefit the Environment

Photo Courtesy New York State DEC

One of the most successful environmental laws ever adopted in New York State is the Returnable Container Act (RCA) of 1982, commonly referred to as the Bottle Bill. This successful law places a 5¢ deposit on carbonated beverages and malt liquor bottles, thereby creating an incentive to recycle. As a result, litter has been reduced substantially in New York State and a significant portion of glass, metal and plastic waste (garbage) has been diverted into recycling programs.

Expanding the Bottle Bill
However, many things have changed in the 20 years since the Bottle Bill was passed. Today, the largest growing sector of the convenience beverage industry consists of bottled water, tea, and sports drinks. Although these beverages are sold in recyclable glass, plastic, or aluminum bottles, they do not carry the New York 5¢ deposit. Although New York's beverage preferences have changed, the law has not. The Bottle Bill now needs to be expanded to include these numerous beverage containers.

Unclaimed Deposits -Where Do They Go?
What happens to the deposits that are not reclaimed by consumers? Many New Yorkers actively participate in recycling by depositing soda cans in recycling bins rather than returning them to the grocery store or redemption center. However, unlike states such as Michigan and Massachusetts, where they earmark the unclaimed deposits for environmental recycling programs, in New York, the bottle money stays in the hands of bottlers and distributors. As a consequence, environmental programs do not benefit from this windfall.

Nickels Can Add Up to A Lot of Money
Estimates by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS- DEC) and the Container Recycling Institute (CRI) on how much of a windfall bottlers and distributors receive annually from unclaimed nickels range from $85 to $137 million. If the nickel deposit is expanded to cover more bottles and cans, the total amount of unclaimed deposits could reach $177 million annually.

Budget Needs for New York
Year after year, New York State continues to face steep budget deficits. Clearly, additional revenue is needed to save important environmental programs. When the Bottle Bill was originally passed, there was no anticipation of how large the windfall from unclaimed nickels would become. By expanding the Bottle Bill Law and earmarking the unclaimed deposits, vital programs that enhance environmental protection, support recycling and complement the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) are all possible.

Supporting Environmental Protection Programs
New York has some of the most effective and progressive environmental programs in the nation. In 1993, New York enacted the first-ever permanently dedicated environmental funding mechanism, known as the Environmental Protection Fund or EPF. The EPF supports environmental initiatives in New York including the preservation of open space, non-point source pollution control, waterfront revitalization, state parks stewardship, Hudson River Estuary management, Long Island South Shore Estuary management, farmland protection, Finger Lakes and Great Lakes protection and solid waste recycling programs. These vital environmental programs benefit people and places across the state and not surprisingly, there are always more programs to carry out than funds available to support them. Other environmental needs not addressed by the EPF, such as sewage collection system upgrades, could also benefit from the expanded deposit system.

The funding gap to protect New York's air, water and land resources grows each year. Expanding the bottle bill to include non-carbonated beverages and to retain the unredeemed deposits for state environmental initiatives would help address the budget deficit in New York and narrow the gap between environmental needs and sustainable financial support. In this time of fiscal challenges, the Governor and legislative leaders should welcome an additional $177 million annual revenue stream that can help underwrite valuable environmental programs and promote recycling in a responsible and targeted way.

CCE supports expansion of the successful Bottle Bill legislation to include most beverage containers we use and to retain the unclaimed nickels to fund and expand New York's existing environmental and recycling programs.

Click here to read CCE's memorandum of support for the bottle bill

For more information on the Bottle Bill program, link to:

N.Y.S. Department of Environmental Conservation, Returnable Container Act: www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dshm/redrecy/rca.htm