You asked if Connecticut's neighboring states have addressed the issue of unredeemable cans and bottles.

SUMMARY

Of Connecticut's neighboring states, New York and Massachusetts have addressed the unredeemable cans and bottles issue. Rhode Island does not have a bottle bill, making unredeemable bottles a non-issue. It has mandatory curbside recycling. Proposed bills in New York's and Massachusetts' latest sessions would have expanded their respective bottle bills to include non-carbonated beverage containers, but none have passed to date.

NEW YORK'S AND MASSACHUSETTS' LATEST EFFORTS

New York

Two bills introduced during the current session address unredeemable bottles: (1) An Act to Amend the Environmental Conservation Law, in Relation to Requiring Deposits on Non-carbonated Beverage Containers (Assembly Bill 07337) and (2) An Act to Amend the Environmental Conservation Law, the General Municipal Law and the State Finance Law, in Relation to Recyclable Materials and Returnable Beverage Containers.

Assembly Bill 07337 expands the application of the returnable container law to include non-carbonated beverages. Assembly Bill 11442 (1) adds non-carbonated beverage containers to the bottle deposit law; (2) directs more than $ 84 million annually in unredeemed bottle deposits to municipal recycling programs; (3) clarifies current law by prohibiting waste haulers from dumping recyclables at landfills and incinerators; and (4) establishes a list of materials that must be included in curbside recycling programs.

According to Judith Enck, policy advisor for New York's Attorney General, A 11442 had bi-partisan support. But it met heavy opposition from the beverage and supermarket industries. The bill will likely not pass this session, but it will likely be back with more support in the future, said Enck.

More information is available at:

http: //assembly. state. ny. us/leg/?bn=A11442

Massachusetts

Massachusetts has perennial bills to expand and repeal its bottle bill, according to Julie Bender, state Department of Environmental Protection recycling specialist. The bills have not made it out of study committees, including the 2001 session, said Bender.

Massachusetts had three bills addressing bottle redemption in 2001: (1) An Act Relative to Fruit Juices (HB 1938); (2) An Act to Protect the Natural Resources of the Commonwealth (HB 2155); and (3) An Act to Update the Bottle Deposit System and Lower the Cost Of Recycling Beverage Containers in the Commonwealth (HB 2888).

HB 1938 would have added fruit juice containers to list of redeemable bottles. HB 2155 would have expanded the bottle bill to include all non-dairy containers four liters or less. HB 2888 would have stripped the deposit system.

More information in available at http: //www. state. ma. us/legis/hbillsrch. htm or www. bottlebill. org

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