On a similar note, just read in Waste News mag. (5/24) that the state's
General Assembly chose NOT to expand the bottle and can deposit program to
include noncarbonated drinks. According to the article, the amendment
failed after legislators argued that the amendment had not been considered
by a committee before the House considered it.
Heidi Feldman
Public Education Coordinator
Monterey Regional Waste Management District
P.O. Box 1670, Marina, CA 93933
Tel.: 831/384-5313 FAX: 831/384-3567
"It is more rewarding to watch money change the world than watch it
accumulate."
Gloria Steinem
-----Original Message-----
From: patfrankin [mailto:cri@container-recycling.org]
Sent: Friday, June 04, 1999 7:23 AM
To: multiple recipients of
Cc: greenyes@earthsystems.org; recycle@envirolink.org;
waste@cedar.univie.ac.at; owner-recyc-l@BROWNVM.BROWN.EDU; "Campus Green
Vote"@igc.org; SEAUGA@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU; OFEE List Server
Subject: [GRRN] CA BOTTLE BILL PASSED SENATE TODAY ON 23-9 VOTE
MY APOLOGIES IF YOU HAVE ALREADY RECEIVED THIS OR YOU ARE ON MORE THAN ONE
LIST
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--- June 3, 1999N E W S T I P F R O M THE CONTAINER RECYCLING INSTITUTE Pat Franklin, Executive Director
The California State Senate took a bold step yesterday that will benefit both the economy and the environment. By a vote of 23 - 9 by adopting legislation that would expand the State's 12 year old Bottle and Can Recycling Law.
By passing the bottle bill expansion proposal, the California senate sends a powerful message to citizens, lawmakers and the beverage industry that wasting billions of containers annually is not longer acceptable. The measure has two more hurdles -- State Assembly approval and the governors's signature -- before becoming the second state to expand it's original bottle bill to include beverages such as teas, fruit and sports drinks and bottled water. The measure was supported by a coalition that included local governments, recyclers, glass bottle makers, retailers, beer producers and distributors and environmental groups.
In addition to adding new containers to the recycling program, the legislation would direct more than $75.4 million annually in unredeemed funds to recycling and litter clean up and prevention programs.
The California Bottle Bill is unique in that it requires beverage producers to cover the net cost of recycling their containers through payment of a "processing fee" which varies from container type to container type.
Additionally, the California Bottle Bill is compatible with curbside and other pre-existing recycling programs. Specifically, it allows curbside programs to retain the refund value for containers recycled through curbside. It's projected that the program, as amended by SB 332, will provide $55-65 million annually to curbside recycling programs. An estimated 10 million households in California are served by curbside recycling.
According to the State Department of Conservation, 75% of beverage containers covered by the California Bottle Bill are returned for recycling annually. Less than 29% of glass and less than 14% of plastic containers excluded by the program are currently being recycled.
SB 332 will now move to the State Assembly where it needs 41 votes to pass.
A copy of the bill and analysis can be viewed at the Californians Against Waste (CAW) website at: www.cawrecycles.org . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
HERE IS A MESSAGE FROM CALIFORNIANS AGAINST WASTE (CAW)
>Wednesday, the California State Senate adopted legislation to expand and update the State's Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction program to include a broad range of new beverage categories. > >Senate Bill 332, by State Senator Byron Sher (D-Palo Alto), which passed the State Senate on a 23-9 vote, would add containers for non-carbonated waters, juices, teas and sports drinks to the 12 year-old recycling program. Current law is limited to beer, carbonated waters, soft drinks and wine coolers. > >"This legislation will add more than 2 billion new beverage containers to the state's Bottle and Can Recycling Program," Sher said. "Through the efforts of individual Californians, this measure will result in the recycling of an additional 150-200 thousand tons of additional glass, plastic and metal." > >In addition to adding new containers, SB 332 makes numerous changes to both the processing fee provisions and the funding priorities of existing law. We believe these changes are substantial and positive for recycling and recyclers. For example, SB 332 provides an additional: >* $24 million annually for curbside recyclers (70% increase) >* >$16 million for oldline recyclers and processors (44% increase) >* >$13 million for convenience zone recyclers (42% increase) >* >$7 million for local conservation corp recycling and litter cleanup; and >* >$9 million for local government recycling efforts. > >SB 332 will now move to the State Assembly, where it could be heard in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee as early as June 14. > >CAW's primary objective with SB 332 has been to expand recycling in California by adding new containers to the program, and this has appropriately been the focus of our policy and political efforts. With SB 332's passage by the State Senate, there is one final brief window of opportunity to evaluate the provisions of both the program and the bill. CAW invites your input and support in these final critical few weeks. >
>To view the latest version of SB 332 or an analysis, check out the CAW website at: www.cawrecycles.org. > Container Recycling Institute 1911 Ft Myer Drive, Suite 900 Arlington, Virginia 22209 703/276-9800 fax 276-9587 www.container-recycling.org NEW EMAIL ADDRESS cri@container-recycling.org
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