[greenyes] New York State Assembly passes "Bigger Better Bottle Bill"

[Jenny Gitlitz <jenny.gitlitz@no.address>]

After an hour-long floor debate, the New York State Assembly passed the
³Bigger Better Bottle Bill² last night by 98 to 40.

It is now eligible for a vote on the Senate floor, if Senate Majority Leader
Joe Bruno allows it to be heard.

IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED! Time is running out in the session. Calls are
needed today.
For those of you who live in New York, please
 * Call your own state senators (Senate switchboard is (518) 455-2800) to
voice your support of the updated bottle bill.

 * No matter which district you live in, call Senate Majority Leader Joe
Bruno¹s office directly: 518-455-3191, and urge him to allow this bill to be
debated and voted on in the Senate .

Background:
The bill (A2517A, DiNapoli/S1290A LaValle) would extend the current
container deposit law to include non-carbonated beverages like bottled water
and iced tea.  It would also require beverage companies to return the
unclaimed deposits to the state to fund recycling and other environmental
protection programs.  It  also updates the current law to benefit
supermarkets and redemption centers.  It increases the handling fee they
receive from 2 cents per container to up to 3.5 cents per container.  This
increases the compensation for retailers and provides added incentive for
more redemption centers.

Other features of the bill:
- it adds two new exceptions to the provision that allows dealers in NYC to
take back only 72 bottles and cans per person per day, rather than 240 - the
big one being for stores under 8,000 square feet - this covers more than
bodegas, it's small supermarkets
- it requires bar code labeling of beverages
- it creates a beverage container recycling assistance program through the
EPF with grants for nonprofits, municipalities, and small businesses
- it creates an advisory board
- it delays the effective date for the expansion for a year in order to give
time for setting up the collection infrastructure.

For more information, please visit http://www.nypirg.org/enviro/bottlebill/
<http://www.nypirg.org/enviro/bottlebill/>  or call 518-436-0876.

--Jenny

Jennifer Gitlitz
Research Director, Container Recycling Institute

Home Office:
2 Pomeroy Ave.
Dalton, MA 01226
Tel. (413) 684-4746
Mobile: (413) 822-0115
Fax: (413) 403-0233
Email: jgitlitz@no.address

Please note the new address for CRI¹s main office:
Container Recycling Institute
1601 North Kent St., Suite 803
Arlington, VA 22209-2105
Tel. (703) 276-9800
Fax: (703) 276-9587
www.container-recycling.org
www.bottlebill.org