MMA letter urging legislative support for expansion of bottle bill

The Honorable Barry R. Finegold, House Chair
The Honorable Michael Morrissey, Senate Chair
Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy
State House, Boston

Dear Chairman Finegold, Chairman Morrissey, and Members of the Committee,

On behalf of the cities and towns of the Commonwealth, the Massachusetts Municipal Association would like to offer strong support for H. 3515, an Act to Update the Massachusetts Bottle Bill. We respectfully request that the Committee give the bill a favorable report. The legislation would relieve a significant financial and environmental burden on cities and towns by reducing the volume of solid waste generated in Massachusetts.

The Massachusetts Bottle Bill, enacted in 1982, has fostered a cleaner environment for our state’s residents by creating an incentive for consumers of certain beverage containers to recycle the containers.

States with deposit laws have higher residential recycling rates of beverage containers than those of non-deposit states, and in states with deposit laws, litter has decreased on average between 70 and 85 percent. Since the passage of the original the Massachusetts Bottle Bill, cities and towns now recycle more than 80 percent of deposit containers but only 25 percent of non-deposit containers.

The original bottle bill did not foresee the future popularity of beverages such as bottled water, sports drinks, and special teas. In fact, many of those drinks did not exist when the original bottle bill was passed. The addition of bottled water, sports drinks, teas, and other “new age” beverages to the Bottle Bill would decrease the total volume of municipal solid waste that needs to be collected, saving disposal fees and landfill space. We also encourage the committee to consider adding more types of containers (up to 48 ounces in size) beyond what is listed in H. 3515.

Approximately $37 million in deposits goes unredeemed each year, and that amount would rise if more beverages are covered by the law. H. 3515 would provide up to $20 million in new funding to help cities and towns with curbside recycling, a major enhanced benefit to our environment.

The MMA is pleased to support this legislation as it would help solve the state’s growing environmental problem of non-deposit containers, reduce roadside litter, cut the amount of trash going into landfills or incinerators, and have a positive effect on municipal budgets. Please favorably advance this important measure. Thank you very much.

Sincerely,
Geoffrey C. Beckwith
MMA Executive Director