| The Bigger, Better Bottle Bill is getting closer and closer to reality. Today, Senator Antoine Thompson, who serves as chairman of the Environmental Conservation Committee in the New York State Senate, held a public hearing on the bottle bill in Buffalo.
Upon entry to the hearing, you were greeted by a few people holding a variety of signs opposing the Bigger, Better Bottle Bill (BBBB). The signs read, "Don't take my job", "I am worth more than a nickel" and "Don't raise my prices." Inside the hearing, there were more of these signs, so opponents of the bottle bill were out in full force.
However, those who testified were largely in support of the bill. Among those who testified, Carol Ash - Commissioner of the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation in New York - expressed her support for expanding the bottle bill. Patrick Hooker, who heads the Department of Agriculture and Markets, did the same.
There were others who testified in support from many conservation groups who play an important role in the state. A few students even stepped up to the plate and announced their support for the legislation.
In all, there were 27 different witnesses who testified today. Out of those 27, 18 said that they favored expanding the bottle bill. Among those who were against expansion were owners of distribution companies, a Tops Markets district manager, management from Coca-Cola and Pepsi and Buffalo's NAACP head Frank Mesiah, who argued that the bottle bill's expansion would have a negative impact on the economically disadvantaged.
Those who testified in favor of the bottle bill discussed how the bill would have a positive effect on the environment while giving people an incentive to recycle their bottles of water, Gatorade and other non-carbonated beverages. According to one witness, non-carbonated beverages make up one-third of all bottles, yet bottles that hold those non-carbonated beverages make up two-thirds of the bottles that are littered.
The opponents of the bill highlighted two things: Handling fees and unclaimed deposits. Right now, beverage companies in New York get to keep unclaimed deposits that are estimated at $140 million a year. Under an expanded bottle bill, those unclaimed deposits would go up to $218 million, according to NYPIRG's figures. The bottle bill would require companies to return unclaimed deposits to the state, which is something that did not sit well with opponents, especially Coca-Cola and Pepsi.
One of the highlights came from a man who came in and sat down next to me with a huge plastic bag full of bottles and cans, along with a separate plastic bag with only a few bottles in it. He ended up testifying and he said that when the first bottle bill was passed, a similar public hearing was held and he did the same thing. He went out and in the immediate area surrounding the building where the public hearing was held, he gathered up a bag full of bottles and cans to show why a bottle bill is needed. This time, he wanted to show us why a better bottle bill is needed. In the bag with only a few bottles and cans in it, he had Pepsi cans, beer bottles and a few other returnable bottles. In the bigger bag, while he did put in some bottles and cans that looked returnable, he also had water bottles, Gatorade bottles and other beverages that aren't currently covered by the bottle bill. The symbolism spoke for itself: We need a better bottle bill to keep these bottles off of the ground. |
