CGA Environment Committee

March 10, 2008 Public Hearing

Support For:

RB 357 An Act Concerning The Expansion Of The Beverage Container Redemption Provisions To Include Water Bottles

Testimony by Cheryl Dunson, Public Issues Vice President

The League of Women Voters of Connecticut, a statewide organization with over 2400 members, supports policies to promote the re-use and recycling of solid waste. Indeed, the League of Women Voters of Connecticut was among the organizations that worked in coalition to pass Connecticut’s existing “bottle law” and for the mandatory recycling law. 

We wholeheartedly support the expansion of the beverage container redemption to include water bottles because:

It works.

Connecticut need not look elsewhere because we have a 30-year track record. Data shows we currently achieve beverage container redemption rates of approximately 65-70%. Why not build on this success?

It’s a user fee, not the taxpayer’s dime.

Blue bin pick-up and escalating out-of-state disposal fees due to lack of landfill capacity are funded by all CT taxpayers. According to the Container Recycling Institute, 425 million bottles of water were sold in CT in 2005. We have a population of approx 3.5 million people in Connecticut, equating to about 120 containers for every man, woman and child in the state! A user fee helps reduce pressure to increase taxes for waste removal by removing this voluminous waste from the waste stream. Connecticut’s long-standing user-funded program is not only effective as return rates demonstrate, it’s equitable, i.e., only those that use the designated products are subject to the program.

It’s modest.

Unlike past legislative proposals, this bill solely targets water, not other types of non-carbonated beverages. However, by targeting water bottles, we will be capturing the containers of the single largest growth area among all beverages.  While the League supports this incremental increase in the type of containers covered by the program, we urge the committee to include a mechanism to track the escheats so that we know how much is retained by distributors. With such data, the Legislature in future can assess the advantages and disadvantages of using escheats to provide assistance to municipalities and/or fund recycling education and outreach programs to achieve the goal of 58% of municipal solid waste disposal diversion identified in the State’s 2006 Solid Waste Management Plan.

It’s time.

Landfill space is running out. Using the above 2005 sales figures, by relying solely on curbside recycling, that means that approximately 300 million bottles ended up in the trash. At the current 30% diversion rate, by 2024 we will be shipping approximately 1.5 million tons of waste out of state annually (State of Connecticut, State Solid Waste Management Plan, December 2006, Executive Summary, P. ES-5).  Connecticut taxpayers have no control over the costs of out-of-state disposal fees, or the high cost of fuel to transport waste out of Connecticut. The point is to maximize recycling at a minimum financial and environmental cost.

In conclusion, the League urges your support for this proposal that represents a worthy effort to broaden the recycling program in our State.

League of Women Voters of Connecticut · 1890 Dixwell Avenue Hamden, CT 06514 · 203/288-7996

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