Massachusetts Bottle Bill | |
---|---|
Massachusetts | |
| |
Passed | 1982 |
Commenced | 1983 |
Bill citation | Mass. Bills H.2943/S.1588 |
Status: In force |
The Massachusetts Bottle Bill (Mass. Bills H.2943/S.1588) is a container-deposit legislation dealing with recycling in the United States that originally passed in the U.S. state of Massachusetts in 1982 as the Beverage Container Recovery Law. Implemented in 1983, the law requires containers of carbonated beverages to be returnable with a minimum return value of $0.05. The bottle bill does not cover containers of non-carbonated beverages like water, tea, or sports drinks. The law also establishes the handling fee paid by distributors to redemption centers, $0.0325 per unit as of July 5, 2013, and to retailers $0.0225 per unit. As the number of non-deposit beverage containers (water, tea, sports beverages, etc.) has increased to represent over one-third of beverage containers sold, the Bottle Bill has no influence on these non-deposit containers, with the result that these containers are three times more likely to be found as litter in Massachusetts communities. Additional studies[ citation needed ] indicate that beverage containers covered by the state's container deposit system are redeemed at approximately 70% and another 9% are recycled via curbside programs. Conversely, containers that are not covered, such as bottled water, juices, and sports drinks, are recycled at approximately 25%.[ citation needed ]
Since the original Bottle Deposit Law was enacted, there has been tremendous growth in the consumption of beverages exempted. Since 2000, consumption of non-carbonated beverages has demonstrated near double-digit growth and now represents over 30% of beverages sold in Massachusetts. [1] However, as these beverage containers do not require a deposit, only 23% are recycled, compared with a recycling rate of 80% for containers requiring a deposit in the 2010 fiscal year.
Attempts to update the state's bottle bill to account for these changes have been underway since 2001, but without success.
Expansion of the Massachusetts container law was proposed in 2010 by Gov. Deval Patrick in his fiscal year 2010 budget to include a nickel deposit on water, juice, energy drink and sport drink containers. [2]
While the proposed expansion of the bottle bill includes provisions for both deposits paid by consumers as well as handling fees paid by industry, a portion of deposits paid are expected to remain unredeemed. These forfeited deposits are paid into the Commonwealth's General Fund. Revenue from unclaimed deposits has been estimated to be around $34 million per year, prompting Governor Patrick to propose dedicating $6.5 million of this new revenue to the state's Department of Environmental Protection recycling and solid waste program. [3] Under the proposed ballot initiative, the forfeited deposits would be directed to environmental programs.
Beverage containers make up around 15% of the waste stream in Massachusetts. [4] According to the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, updating the deposit law to expand the scope of coverage to include water, coffee-based drinks, juices and sports drinks is expected to increase the number of bottles recycled annually from 600 million (40%) to 1.2 billion (80%). [5]
A Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) analysis of the impacts of an expanded Bottle Deposit Law for municipalities found that such an expansion would save municipalities between $4.2 and $6.9 million annually in litter abatement and avoided collection, disposal and recycling costs. [1]
In order to address cost concerns by opponents to a proposed amendment, MassDEP conducted a survey in July 2011, to assess whether amendments to the existing Bottle Deposit Law (BDL) might lead to negative impacts on consumer prices, choice and retailer costs. The results of this survey suggest that the BDL results in no difference in beverage prices for consumers; no difference in consumer choice; and that sufficient infrastructure and capacity exists to handle the anticipated increase in the volume of beverage containers processed should the law be expanded. [6] A 2011 study by Jeffrey Morris, Ph.D., and Clarissa Morawski for the Container Recycling Institute found that expansion of the Bottle Deposit Law would result in net gains in domestic jobs. [7]
In 2011, an update passed the Massachusetts Senate as a provision to the so-called "Jobs Bill." In 2013, an update passed the Massachusetts Senate as part of the state budget. Neither time was the bottle bill update taken up, or passed by the Massachusetts House of Representatives.
A referendum on the ballot in November 2014, concerned whether to expand the bill to cover containers for some non-carbonated beverages. This would have addressed growing concern over the nearly 1.4 billion containers not covered by existing legislation that are found in litter and landfill waste. [5] The goal of the initiative petition that placed the measure on the ballot was to broaden the scope of beverage types requiring a deposit in order to be more responsive to consumer preferences as well as establishing a mechanism for stabilizing the recycling industry by tying the handling fees paid to redemption centers to the Consumer Price Index. [8] Opponents argued that the change would increase costs and red tape for the beverage industry. [9]
The measure was supported by environmental organizations, notably the Sierra Club's Massachusetts Chapter and the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group (MassPIRG), along with 209 of the state's 351 municipalities. [9] It was opposed by the American Beverage Association and several grocery store chains, which raised nearly $8 million to campaign against it. [10] The proposed expansion was defeated, with more than 70 percent of the voters voting against it. [11]
A drink can is a metal container with a polymer interior designed to hold a fixed portion of liquid such as carbonated soft drinks, alcoholic drinks, fruit juices, teas, herbal teas, energy drinks, etc. Drink cans exteriors are made of aluminum or tin-plated steel and the interiors coated with an epoxy resin or polymer. Worldwide production for all drink cans is approximately 370 billion cans per year.
Product stewardship is an approach to managing the environmental impacts of different products and materials and at different stages in their production, use and disposal. It acknowledges that those involved in producing, selling, using and disposing of products have a shared responsibility to ensure that those products or materials are managed in a way that reduces their impact, throughout their lifecycle, on the environment and on human health and safety. This approach focusses on the product itself, and everyone involved in the lifespan of the product is called upon to take up responsibility to reduce its environmental, health, and safety impacts.
Bottled water is drinking water packaged in plastic or glass water bottles. Bottled water may be carbonated or not, with packaging sizes ranging from small single serving bottles to large carboys for water coolers. The consumption of bottled water is influenced by factors such as convenience, taste, perceived safety, and concerns over the quality of municipal tap water. Concerns about the environmental impact of bottled water, including the production and disposal of plastic bottles, have led to calls for more sustainable practices in the industry.
A reusable bottle is a bottle that can be reused, as in the case as by the original bottler or by end-use consumers. Reusable bottles have grown in popularity by consumers for both environmental and health safety reasons. Reusable bottles are one example of reusable packaging.
The Oregon Bottle Bill is a container-deposit legislation enacted in the U.S. state of Oregon in 1971 that went into effect in October 1972. It was the first such legislation in the United States. It was amended in 2007 and 2011. It requires applicable beverages in applicable sizes in glass, plastic or metal cans or bottles sold in Oregon to be returnable with a minimum refund value. The refund value was initially 5 cents until April 1, 2017, when it increased to 10 cents. The Oregon Legislature has given the Oregon Liquor Control Commission the authority to administer and enforce the Bottle Bill. Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative (OBRC), a private cooperative owned by retailers and beverage distributors, administers the collection and transportation of returned containers and keeps all the unclaimed deposits. Materials from returned containers are sold by the OBRC and proceeds are handed out to beverage distributors. In 2022, the bottle bill was expanded to include canned wine, which will become eligible for redemption on July 1, 2025.
Coca-Cola Amatil Limited (CCAL) was an Australian bottler of non-alcoholic beverages that existed from 1904 to 2021, when it merged with Coca-Cola European Partners to form Coca-Cola Europacific Partners. It was one of the largest bottlers of non-alcoholic ready-to-drink beverages in the Asia-Pacific region and one of the world's five major Coca-Cola bottlers. CCA operated in six countries—Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Samoa. The company also bottled beer and coffee.
PepsiCo, Inc. is an American multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase. PepsiCo's business encompasses all aspects of the food and beverage market. It oversees the manufacturing, distribution, and marketing of its products. PepsiCo was formed in 1965 with the merger of the Pepsi-Cola Company and Frito-Lay, Inc., PepsiCo has since expanded from its namesake product Pepsi Cola to an immensely diversified range of food and beverage brands. The largest and most recent acquisition was Pioneer Foods in 2020 for US$1.7 billion and prior to it was buying the Quaker Oats Company in 2001, which added the Gatorade brand to the Pepsi portfolio and Tropicana Products in 1998.
Container-deposit legislation is any law that requires the collection of a monetary deposit on beverage containers at the point of sale and/or the payment of refund value to the consumers. When the container is returned to an authorized redemption center, or retailer in some jurisdictions, the deposit is partly or fully refunded to the redeemer. It is a deposit-refund system.
Glass recycling is the processing of waste glass into usable products. Glass that is crushed or imploded and ready to be remelted is called cullet. There are two types of cullet: internal and external. Internal cullet is composed of defective products detected and rejected by a quality control process during the industrial process of glass manufacturing, transition phases of product changes and production offcuts. External cullet is waste glass that has been collected or reprocessed with the purpose of recycling. External cullet is classified as waste. The word "cullet", when used in the context of end-of-waste, will always refer to external cullet.
California Redemption Value (CRV), also known as California Refund Value, is a regulatory fee paid on recyclable beverage containers in the U.S. state of California. The fee was established by the California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act of 1986 and further extended to additional beverage types in California State Senate Bill No. 1013, signed into law on September 28, 2022, and taking effect on January 1, 2024; since 2010 the program has been administered by the Cal/EPA California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle).
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection is an agency in the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, responsible for protecting the environment in the state. Its areas of responsibility include preventing pollution of air, water, and ground; protecting wetlands; waste and recycling issues; regulating hazardous materials; and reducing climate change.
This article outlines the position and trends of recycling in Canada. Since the 1980s, most mid to large municipalities in most provinces have recycling programs, relying on curbside collection with either bins, boxes, or bags. These systems are not standardized, and the specific process differs for each province. Certain provinces have container-deposit systems in place for bottles, cans, and other beverage containers.
There is no national law in the United States that mandates recycling. State and local governments often introduce their own recycling requirements. In 2014, the recycling/composting rate for municipal solid waste in the U.S. was 34.6%. A number of U.S. states, including California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Oregon, and Vermont have passed laws that establish deposits or refund values on beverage containers while other jurisdictions rely on recycling goals or landfill bans of recyclable materials.
A plastic bottle is a bottle constructed from high-density or low density plastic. Plastic bottles are typically used to store liquids such as water, soft drinks, motor oil, cooking oil, medicine, shampoo or milk. They range in sizes, from very small bottles to large carboys. Consumer blow molded containers often have integral handles or are shaped to facilitate grasping.
The Tennessee Bottle Bill is citizen-supported container-deposit recycling legislation, which if enacted will place a 5-cent deposit on beverage containers sold in Tennessee. The bill applies to containers made of aluminum/bimetal, glass or any plastic, containing soft drinks, beer/malt beverages, carbonated or non-carbonated waters, plain or flavored waters, energy drinks, juices, iced teas or iced coffees. Milk/dairy, nutritional drinks and wine and spirits are not included in the program.
There are ten states in the United States of America with container deposit legislation, popularly called "bottle bills" after the Oregon Bottle Bill, the first such legislation that was passed.
Canned water is drinking water, including spring water, artesian spring water, purified water, carbonated water and mineral water, packaged in beverage cans made of aluminium or tin-plated steel.
Container deposit legislation (CDL), also known as a container deposit scheme (CDS), is a scheme that was first implemented in South Australia in 1977 and over the decades has spread to the Northern Territory in 2012, New South Wales in 2017, the Australian Capital Territory in June 2018, Queensland in November 2018, Western Australia in October 2020 and Victoria in November 2023. The scheme is due to commence in the last remaining state of Tasmania in mid-2025.
The Massachusetts Expansion of Bottle Deposits Initiative, Question 2 was an unsuccessful initiative voted on in the Massachusetts general election held on November 4, 2014. It was one of four 2014 ballot measures put to public vote.
The history of bottle recycling in the United States has been characterized by four distinct stages. In the first stage, during the late 18th century and early 19th century, most bottles were reused or returned. When bottles were mass-produced, people started throwing them out, which led to the introduction of bottle deposits. However, during the second stage, after World War II, consumption patterns changed and nonreturnable containers became popular, which littered the environment. Some states implemented "bottle bills" that instituted deposits. The beverage-container industry first implemented private recycling programs and then pushed for municipal curbside recycling as an alternative to "bottle bills". More recently, PET bottles have largely replaced other materials. The United States used to be the front-runner when it came to recycling PET, but European countries have since outpaced the US.