Bring New York's Bottle Bill into the 21st Century

Not ? Click here.

First name*

Last name*

Email address*

Street address*

City*

State*

Region

ZIP Code*

Postal code

Friend, here's your editable letter to your State Assembly Member:

Dear ,

At the end of last year, scientists sounded the alarm -- There are 1 million times more microplastics in the ocean than previously thought. Data from Hudson Riverkeeper’s clean-ups have documented that plastic bottles and lids are a major source of waste entering the Hudson River that carries water out into the Atlantic Ocean.

In 1982, the NYS Legislature passed and Governor Hugh Carey signed into law, New York’s beverage container deposit law, commonly known as the “bottle bill.” New York’s bottle bill has been an environmental success story -- resulting in 150 billion beverage containers being recycled, resulting in huge reductions in carbon emissions, clean up costs, and plastic pollution.

But, New York’s system is badly in need of modernization. Its 65% collection rates are well below the 90% level that many deposit law states are now achieving such as in Oregon and Michigan, and the legislation has failed to keep up with the plastic beverage containers sold today.

After watching the documentary Glass, Metal, Plastic: The Story of New York’s Canners, it’s clear that we have an opportunity to create a win-win system that supports thousands of low-income individuals involved in ‘canning’ that are helping to clean up New York City, reduce plastic pollution and improve our recycling stream by making several changes to modernize New York’s bottle bill.

We hope you will support the following changes to the law as you negotiate this year’s state budget:  
1) Increase the deposit value. Inflation has reduced the value of the 5 cent deposit - it’s no longer a sufficient motivator for many people to redeem their deposits. 10 cent deposit rates in other states have consistently shown to improve return rates.

2) Increase the scope. Beverages available today are very different from what was on supermarket shelves when New York’s bottle bill was adopted in 1982. There are several beverage categories that should be included in the deposit system -- including hard ciders, non-carbonated tea, sports drinks, juice, and energy drinks -- which, if included, would enable much higher collection and recycling rates. Like other states, wine and liquor containers should be added to the law.

3) Support Redemption Centres. Steps should be taken to support the establishment of non-profit redemption centers, which support the hard word of people who redeem containers from public streets and public events. Those that existed in New York City have been closed due to the high cost of rent. The City and State should consider subsidizing these redemption centers as a way to support the people engaged in this work and also supporting a clean environment.

Concerns raised around the potential loss of revenue for the waste haulers’ operating curbside recycling could be addressed by simply directing a portion of the unclaimed deposits towards offsetting these losses from the waste haulers. Further, the City of New York could direct that the material collected be sent to recycling companies that have contracts with the City.

This is a rare opportunity to boost recycling, reduce litter and support the large community of people who are involved in the day to day collection of deposit containers. We hope you will consider these issues as you work on the 2020 state budget.

Sincerely,
Friend, New York

We can cut plastic pollution, reduce carbon emissions and support low-income communities with one move: fix New York’s broken Bottle Bill.

The bottle bill, adds a five-cent deposit on bottles and cans to incentivize people to recycle them. The system’s captured 150 billion bottles and cans to date -- it’s a key tool in fighting plastic pollution, but the system’s now creaking at the seams.

Five cents no longer serves as sufficient incentive to recycle and many of the drinks on our shelves are outside of the scope of the system. Studies have shown many of these bottles are prone to end up in the Hudson River where they break down and enter the Atlantic Ocean.

By raising the deposit and increasing the beverages included in the system, we can capture and recycle billions more bottles, and create a lifeline for the thousands of low-income New Yorkers who make a living collecting and recycling beverage containers.

There are powerful interests behind the status quo, that's why we need to flood legislators’ offices with one message: fight plastic pollution, fix New York’s bottle bill!