Hi Lance and Pat,
So what can we all do from out here? Please tell us quickly…the weekend is coming
and time is running. Phone
calls? Emails?
Eric Lombardi
Executive Director
EcoCycle, Inc
Boulder, CO
www.ecocycle.org
303-444-6634
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-greenyes@grrn.org
[mailto:owner-greenyes@grrn.org] On Behalf Of
lkingeco2@aol.com
Sent: Thursday, March 28, 2002
4:06 PM
To: greenyes@grrn.org
Cc: lkingeco2@aol.com
Subject: Re: [GreenYes] Big guns
attack Columbia Deposit Ordinance
Action Alert --
Coke, Pepsi and Anheuser-Busch waging war on Deposit Law
Act Now: Weneed your support
to defned the nation’s only local deposit ordinance frombeing repealed.
The Container RecyclingInstitute (CRI) is working with Columbians Against
Throwaways (CAT) to defeatProp 1, the repeal initiative in April 2nd election
in Columbia,Missouri.
CAT and CRI are waging a newspaper and radio advertisingcampaign to defend the
law, as well as organizing media events and communityoutreach. Mayor Hindman
and almost allof the city council members are opposed to repeal of deposits.
We’re being outspent at least 8 to 1 in the most intenselocal issue on the
April ballot.
E-mail Pat Franklin at pfranklin@container-recycling.orgor
Lance King at lkingeco2@aol.com to
find out how you canhelp defeat Prop 1.
Problem: Big guns from the
beverage and grocery industres are trained on Columbia, Missouri, in an effort
to repeal the localbottle and can deposit ordinance, adopted in 1977. In
just 5 days, the voters must decide whether to approve Prop 1,the repeal
initiative.
The April 2nd vote on Prop 1 has national implications. Repealing this
localordinance would add fuel to attacks on state laws in Iowa, New York
andMassachusetts. A massive propagandacampaign claims that because
Columbia has a ‘Blue Bag’ curbside recyclingcampaign, the 5-cent deposit is no
longer needed.
Almost all of the funding for the repeal effort comes frommajor corporations
and trade associations. The Missouri Soft Drink Association (Coke and Pepsi)
and Anheuser-Buschare the leading beverage industry contributors.
Krogers, Hy Vee (Iowa), Schnucks and Nowells are the leading grocerystore
contributors. A couple of oil companies that operate convenience storesat their
gasoline stations are contributing as well.
The Container Recycling Institute believes that thesecorporate backers of Prop
1 have already spent over $100,000, only a fractionof which has been publicly
reported so far. Television, newspaper and radio ads claim that the
depositordinance “robs” the Blue Bag program of revenue.
In the last couple days, registered voters have received twomailings advocating
repeal of deposits from the “Yes on Recycling, Yes on Prop1” Committee,
formerly the repeal committee. It’s classic double-speak, the Prop 1 supporters
trying to confusevoters, saying for example – “if you want to be green vote
blue.”
Employing a strategy developed by the National Soft DrinkAssociation and tested
in New York State a couple years ago, Prop 1 supportersclaim that the Blue Bag
program will reap $200,000 to $300,000 in additionalrevenue in this relatively
small, university community. In addition, they claim deposits
costtaxpayers, consumers and business $1.6 million a year or $2 million a
year,figures that change almost daily.
Among the many false and misleading claims, Prop 1 supportersclaim that the
Blue Bag is 4 times cheaper than deposits. Other days, they say deposits
cost 4 timesmore than the Blue Bag. They can’t keeptheir facts straight
from day to day.
The Columbia Daily Tribune reported 2 days ago that NSDApaid for polling by a
Pennsylvania firm. Go to their website: www.columbiatribune.com
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch had a good article onMonday: www.stltoday.com
More as time permits!
Lance King
Senior Policy Analyst
Container Recycling Institute
1911 N. Fort Meyer Drive * Suite 702
Arlington, VA 22209-1603
Tel: (703) 276-9800
Fax: (703) 276-9587
E-mail: lking@container-recycling.org
WEBSITES www.container-recycling.org
www.bottlebill.info