21 03 20

I’m writing to ask you to please support legislation (H.175) to update one of Vermont’s most important and effective environmental laws – the Bottle Bill.

As a professor of biology (now retired), I had my students study the mystery of how the bottle bill worked. It took some arm-twisting of the parties involved, but we finally ascertained the following cycle:

Bottler->Grocer-grocer pays bottler 7 cents/container.  Grocer->shopper-shopper pays grocer 2 cents more for bottle than prior to bill and then is charged a 5-cent deposit.

Shopper/litter gleaner->bottle redemption center-bottle redemption center pays shopper/litter gleaner 5 cents per bottle.  Bottle redemption center->bottler-bottler pays redemption center 7 cents per bottle, completing the cycle.  So, bottom line the real cost of the 5 cent bottle law is 7 cents per bottle.  The consumer pays the extra 2 cents AND for unreturned bottles, the bottler makes an extra 2 cents.  Now, I am not against this scheme, because the benefits to the environment are so clear (see below)!  I do think we need to be more honest and open about how the law works, however.  I have never seen the above cycle explained anywhere that the public can know about it.

The Bottle Bill was passed initially in 1972 and has been a great success in reducing litter and by recycling more than 10 Billion beverage containers. But after nearly 50 years, it’s time to modernize the law.

After all, beverages like sports drinks, iced tea, hard cider, and even bottled water generally weren’t around in single-use containers fifty years ago. By updating the law to include more of these containers, and wine bottles too (which can be difficult and expensive for solid waste districts to handle), Vermont could almost double the benefits of the Bottle Bill program.

You might also consider updating the deposit, which has been stuck at a nickel since the law was passed. Other states that have raised their refundable deposit to a dime have the highest rates of redemption and recycling.

Modernizing the Bottle Bill will reduce litter, improve recycling, and cut energy use and climate pollution too. I urge you to support H.175 and do all you can to pass it this year.

Thank you!

Carl

Carlos F. A. Pinkham, PhD

COL USA, Ret.

NU '65

Professor Emeritus

Biology Department

Norwich University

Faculty Founder, Norwich Christian Fellowship

802 881-3226 (M)

http://mentiscopia.pbworks.com