Please Support New York's Bottle Bill

[ABlix]

If you have a minute and live near the New York area, please consider giving your support to this bill by getting in touch with your representatives.

Small steps like this are the only way we get closer to maintaining a healthier environment for everyone.

Here is the email I received from NYPIRG regarding it, which may help inform you.

ACTION ALERT
Act now for a CLEANER NEW YORK – call your State Senator today!
The Bigger Better Bottle Bill is in the home stretch. Last week, the New York State Assembly passed this bill, which is a top priority for NYPIRG and the environmental community at large.

The bill would increase recycling and reduce litter by updating New York's highly successful nickel deposit law (known as the Bottle Bill) to include bottled water and other non-carbonated beverages. It would also dramatically increase funding for local environmental programs by redirecting unclaimed deposits from beverage companies to the state Environmental Protection Fund.

But with less than a week to go before the legislative session is scheduled to end, the New York State Senate has STILL not acted on this important measure to make our communities cleaner and healthier.

That's why your action NOW could make the difference. We all want cleaner communities and a healthier environment. Let's urge the State Senate to get it done this year!

The next few days are crucial for this campaign. Please contact your Senator TODAY and urge him or her to pass the Bigger Better Bottle Bill (S.5850-A) this year!

CONTACT
YOUR STATE SENATOR*
(518) 455-2800 (Senate Switchboard)
www.senate.state.ny.us
* To find out who represents you, go to the Senate link listed above, or type in your address at New York State Board of Elections - Interactive Map .

TALKING POINTS
** The Legislature has a responsibility to make our communities cleaner and healthier. Each year that state lawmakers fail to update New York's Bottle Bill, more than two billion water bottles and other non-deposit containers end up in the trash or littering our communities. It's time to update the Bottle Bill to include these containers.

** After 25 years, the Bottle Bill is still New York's most effective recycling and litter prevention program. But consumer tastes have changed, and it's time to update the program. Bottled water and other non-carbonated beverages now make up more than 1/4 of the beverage market – but they make up nearly 2/3 of the empty bottles and cans polluting our parks, beaches, and neighborhoods. Recycling these containers conserves energy, natural resources, and landfill space.

** We need more money for parks, recycling, and programs that protect our health and our environment. The Legislature should close the loophole in the law that allows beverage companies to profit when people don't reclaim their nickel deposits. This would generate more than $180 million a year in new funding for the state's Environmental Protection Fund.

URGE YOUR STATE SENATOR TO BRING HOME THE BIGGER BETTER BOTTLE BILL THIS YEAR!

BACKGROUND
The Bottle Bill, enacted in 1982, is New York’s most successful recycling and litter prevention law. Because of the 5-cent refundable deposit on beer and soda containers, nearly 70% of these bottles and cans get returned and recycled each year, and our communities have significantly less litter and broken glass. In comparison, curbside recycling programs capture less than 20% of non-deposit beverage containers such as water bottles; most end up in the trash or polluting our parks, beaches, farms, and roadsides.

Governor David A. Paterson proposed legislation to update the Bottle Bill after the Senate refused to include it in the state budget this year. The "Bigger Better Bottle Bill" (A.8044-A/S.5850-A) would update the law to include a 5-cent deposit on non-carbonated beverages such as water, juice, iced tea, and sports drinks. This would keep more than 2 billion bottles and cans out of New York’s landfills each year! The updated bill would also require beverage distributors to transfer unclaimed nickel deposits to the State Environmental Protection Fund. Currently, the beverage companies keep all the unclaimed deposits. This would generate more than $180 million annually for protecting New York’s environment.


FOR MORE INFORMATION
Visit NYPIRG's webpage: NYPIRG: Bottle Bill
Contact NYPIRG staff at 518-436-0876:
Laura Haight, lhaight@nypirg.org
Lydia Vinas, lvinas@nypirg.org

[schola]

Instead of recycling more, why don't we stop consuming wasteful products like bottled water all together?

I disagree with the first talking point. I believe it is our job as members of our communities to make our communities cleaner and healthier; not government.

[Barcs]

Instead of recycling more, why don't we stop consuming wasteful products like bottled water all together?

I'd rather drink bottled spring water than any kind of water with flouride in it. That's for sure.

[Eric Revelin]

Originally Posted by Barcs

I'd rather drink bottled spring water than any kind of water with flouride in it. That's for sure.

Aren't they putting flouride in some brands of bottled water?

It seems like the best solution is to get yourself a sturdy glass bottle and distill your own water so you know exactly what's in it. I wouldn't suggest trusting the government or the bottled water companies.

[schola]

Originally Posted by Barcs

I'd rather drink bottled spring water than any kind of water with flouride in it. That's for sure.

Most bottled water is tap water.

[anamoly]

Originally Posted by schola

Instead of recycling more, why don't we stop consuming wasteful products like bottled water all together?

I disagree with the first talking point. I believe it is our job as members of our communities to make our communities cleaner and healthier; not government.

Although I agree with your sentiment, that's an unreasonable leap - thus I am going ahead and issuing my support for this bill. At least it's a decent first step.