[GRRN] Michigan Legislator Proposes Landfill Bottle Ban

[Mike Garfield <michaelg@ecocenter.org>]

The following press release was issued yesterday by Michigan State Senator
Ken DeBeaussaert.  The bill is thought to have a fair chance of success,
given Michigan residents' overwhelming support for the state's container
deposit law, and given widespread public opposition to waste imports here
from the City of Toronto.

Mike Garfield

***********************

DeBeaussaert Bill Would Ban Bottles and Cans from Landfills

(LANSING)-----State Senator Ken DeBeaussaert (D-Chesterfield Township)
will introduce legislation today that would ban the disposal of beverage
containers from Michigan's landfills.  The ban would include beer
bottles, soft drink containers and wine coolers.  The bill is designed
to cut the amount of waste going into Michigan landfills, reducing our
need to site new landfills or expand current ones.

"The residents of Michigan have demonstrated their commitment to
preserving natural resources by removing bottles and cans from our
waste; others who seek to use our landfills should be held to that same
standard," said DeBeaussaert.  It's just not fair that our landfill
space is being filled with the bottles and cans of other states when our
residents take the time and energy to recycle them," DeBeaussaert added.

Currently, none of the five largest importers of solid waste into
Michigan have a comprehensive system for removing bottles and cans from
the waste streams (Ontario, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin).
Although many utilize curbside recycling programs, those systems are not
nearly as effective as the Michigan program.  Although Ontario has a
deposit system on beer bottles and cans it does not have one for soft
drinks.  Curbside programs are only estimated to be collecting 35
percent of those containers.

Currently, 98.4 percent of the deposit containers purchased in Michigan
returned for a deposit, which is higher than the average recovery rate
for the ten bottle deposit states (80 percent) and higher still than the
42 percent national recovery rate.  This legislation would reduce the
amount of solid waste being imported into Michigan by between
250,000-500,000 yards annually.

"This legislation would reduce pollution and unnecessary use of natural
resources by encouraging the recycling and reuse of bottles and cans,"
stated James Clift, Policy Director of the Michigan Environmental
Council.  "This legislation is a positive step the State of Michigan can
take without authorization by Congress to insure our landfill space is
being used wisely," Clift concluded.

CONTACT: Senator Ken DeBeaussaert
(517) 373-7315

__________________
Mike Garfield
Ecology Center
117 N. Division
Ann Arbor, MI  48104
(734) 761-3186 ext. 104
(734) 663-2414 (fax)
michaelg@ecocenter.org
www.ecocenter.org



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