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| McReynolds Calls for National Bottle Bill. |
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David McReynolds for US Senate October 20, 2004 For More Information: McReynolds Calls for National Bottle Bill, Calls on Sen. Schumer to Cosponsor Jeffords Bill David McReynolds, the Green Party candidate for US Senate, announced today that he supports a national bottle bill to increase the rate of recycling. New York is one of 10 states that have state deposit laws in effect, known as the bottle bill. McReynolds also announced support for green packaging laws, to require packaging to be made of reusable, returnable and recyclable materials. Packaging makes up one third of the waste stream. McReynolds would expand return-for-deposit and producer-takeback laws for all waste items. "We have to stop being a throw away society," noted McReynolds. "Our approach must be to reduce, reuse and recycle. Our first goal is to reduce the amount of waste we generate. We should strive for zero waste. And we have to hold companies financially responsible for the waste they generate, rather than sticking taxpayers with the disposal costs." New York City is particularly hard hit by escalating waste disposal costs as the City exports all of its waste to out-of-town landfills and polluting garbage incinerators. Reducing waste saves tax dollars. "All garbage incinerators should be shut down," added McReynolds. "They are very expensive and a major source of many toxic materials." McReynolds said it was important to ensure that incineration is not considered a "renewable" energy source, as the incinerator industry is lobbying for in New York. McReynolds supports the implementation of a comprehensive federal plan to end waste disposal, starting with the use of disposal bans. A disposal ban prohibits designated types of waste from landfills and incinerators. Minimum recycled content standards, removing unnecessary toxic components, and producer responsibility regulations would also be used to support recycling and end waste disposal. Compost programs would be utilized for yard, food, and other organic waste. Minimum content laws for paper, glass, metal, and other waste streams can help guarantee markets for recyclables. McReynolds would compel the EPA to enforce the State Planning provisions of the Solid Waste Disposal Act, compelling individual states to maximize waste reduction and recycling. McReynolds said he would co-sponsor the "National Beverage Container Producer Responsibility Act of 2003," introduced by Sen. Jeffords and co-sponsored by Sen. Kerry. The Act would hold beverage companies responsible for developing a system to achieve an 80 percent recycling rate for their containers. A 10-cent refundable deposit would apply to an estimated 180 billion aluminum cans, plastic and glass bottles used as packaging for most kinds of beverages, excluding dairy products. Schumer is not a cosponsor. "The ten states with bottle bills are recycling more bottles and cans than the other 40 states combined," noted McReynolds. "This legislation would double the national beverage container recycling rate, save energy, reduce pollution, prevent road side litter and create sustainable jobs." The ten states that currently require refundable deposits recycle 490 containers per person per year, compared to only 190 per person in non-deposit states. The Container Recycling Institute estimates that the total energy savings achieved by a national bottle bill would be 53 million barrels of crude oil equivalent annually, or enough to meet the annual residential energy needs of more than 3 million American households. States with container deposit laws include:
California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts,
Michigan, New York, Oregon and Vermont. Hawaii adopted a new bottle bill
last year that goes into effect in 2005. |
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