NYS Association for Reduction, Reuse & Recycling

Project Leader: Jeff Edwards

Text of Budget Bill Provisions is Section K of the Budget Bill beginning on the bottom of page 13 (page #s appear at the top of the page.)

Summary of Provisions
The Bigger, Better Bottle Bill or (BBBB) does a number of things:

1. It will add a $.05 deposit to non carbinated drinks like bottled water, teas, and sports drinks.
2. It will capture the unclaimed deposits that are currently kept by the deposit initiator (the beverage distributor that initiates the deposit. These nickles that are not claimed by the consumer would be placed into the Environmental Proteciton Fund (EPF) to be used by region where they were generated. The Container Recycling Institute, which studies bottle laws, claims that $179 million dollars could be added to the EPF each year if this bill was passed.
3. The bill would increase handling fees from $.02 to $.035. The handling fee is the amount of money that retailers get paid for each claimed deposit as a fee for handling the beverage containers.
4. The Municipal Recycling Program would be altered to allow for grants to support the creation of new beverage redemption centers.
5. The bill would allow retailers in NYC located near beverage redemtion centers to limit the number of containers that they would be required to accept from any one redeamer.

Bill Status
Lots is happening with the Bigger Better Bottle Bill (BBBB). Although provisions implementing the BBBB failed to make it into the final version of the State Budget Senator Bruno's rhetoric against the legislation has toned down and Senator Marcellino (Republican from Long Island and Chair of the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee has now introduced legislation in the State Senate S05443)that would expand the definition of beverage containers requiring deposit. His bill would not increase the handling fee or capture the unclaimed deposits to fund environmental programs. We also do not know how serious he is about supporting his own legislation as the bill was introduced with no co-sponsors or multi-sponsors. Senator Lavalle, Republican from Long Island, has also introduced in this session the legislation that he has introduced for the last several years as S03434, this is the same as the bill introduced by Assemblyman (now Controller) DiNapoli last year.

Assemblyman Bob Sweeney, Democrat from Suffolk County, and Chair of the Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee has just last week introduced new legislation similar to the Governor's budget provisions as A08044. This bill was introduced with over 55 co-sponsors and multi-sponsors and was immediately put on the Agenda of the Environmental Conservation Committee for the Tuesday the 8th meeting. It will still need to pass out of the Codes Committee and the Ways and Means Committee before it heads the Assembly floor for a final vote but this is certainly a fast tracking move by the Environmental Conservation Committee.

I would say main thing to get out of all this is that the BBBB is certainly not dead for this session. NYSAR3 does need to, at some point come to decision on whether we would support an expansion of the items collected without capturing the unclaimed deposits (i.e. the Marcellino bill.)

A07447A "The recycling for communities act" introduced by Assemblyman Benjamin, Democrat from the Bronx would repeal the Bottle Bill and Tax Consumers of most consumer items to create a fund to support local government recycling and litter control efforts.

Links
NYSAR3's Memo of Support

NYPIRG's Bottle Bill site

NYS DEC page on the current law

The Container Recycling Institute's NY Bottle Bill Web Site

The Great Bottle Round-Up

New York State Annual Report on Beverage Container Law Deposit and Redemption Statistics covering the period October 2004 through September 2005

The Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) and Funding for Recycling and Pollution Prevention (PP) Programs

The Environmental Protection Fund was expanded from $225 million to $250 million for the 2007-2008 budget year. This included an increase of the Municipal Recycling Programs line from $8.75 million to $9.825 million. The Municipal Recycling Programs line funds the Household Hazardous Waste Program and the bother the Municipal Waste Reduction and Recycling Program (MWRRP) programs (The Recycling Education Program and the Recycling Capital Projects Program.) The Secondary Materials Markets Program remained constant at $8.75 million. The Secondary Materials Markets line funds NYSDED's Environmental Services Unit (ESU) programs which include recycling market development projects and pollution prevention projects. The MWRRP still contains about a $28 million shortfall delaying funding of projects for about 3 years. .

Final EFP Budget

Friends of New York's Environment letter to The Governor, The Speaker of the Assembly and the Majority Leader of the Senate on the Budget

The New York Recycles License Plate

The New York Recycles License Plate Bill makes the New York Recycles License Plate an Issues Plate, both raising its visibility on the DMV custom plates webpage and allowing for the proceeds of plate sales to go into the Solid Waste Account of the EPF. This bill was passed by both houses last year and vetoed by Governor Pataki. The bill has again been introduced into both houses. Assemblyman Bill Colton, Democrat from Brooklyn, and Chair of the Legislative Commission on Solid Waste Management introduced the bill in the Assembly as A03359. Senator Marcellino has introduced the bill in the Senate as S03837. The bill has been referred to the Transportation Committee in each house. It has not been reported from either Committee. Assemblyman David F. Gantt, Democrat from Monroe County is the Chair of the Assembly Transportation Committee and Senator Thomas Libous, Republican from Broome County is Chair of the Senate, Transportation Committee.

Other Recycling Bills NYSAR3 Does Not Have a Position On

Plastic Grocery Bag Restrictions
After the passage in San Francisco of a ban on non-compostable plastic shopping bags three different one house bills have been introduced into the Legislature designed to reduce the use of plastic shopping bags in New York.
A07173 introduced by Assemblyman Ortiz, Democrat from Manhattan, would impose a $.15 per bag tax on the use of new shopping bags by consumers.
A07219 introduced by Assemblyman Colton, would prohibit supermarkets for distributing plastic bags for packaging by customers.

S04477 introduced by Senator Jim Alesi, Republican from Monroe County would require reductions in the use of plastic bags over time requiring a 50% reduction by 2010 and elimination of their use by 2012.

Electronics Recycling
Assemblyman Colton has introduced four electronics recycling bills in the Assembly. Two of these have companion bills in the Senate.

A02648/S05243 "The Manufacturer return share electronic equipment recycling act of 2007" was introduced in the Senate by Senator Carl Marcellino in the Senate. The bill would pay for electronics recycling programs in the state by assessing each manufacturer a fee based on the quantity of equipment returned for recycling each year in the State.

A2798/S05243 "The Electronic equipment recycling act of 2007" was introduced by Senator Marcellino in the Senate. The bill would pay for electronics recycling programs in the state by assessing each manufacturer a fee based on the number of computers sold each year in the State.

A03317 directs the commissioner of environmental conservation to promulgate rules and regulations providing for the recycling, reuse and remanufacturing of electronic equipment and defines "electronic equipment". The bill is intended to standardize the industry involved in the recovery, recycling, reuse and remanufacturing of electronic equipment and the components of such equipment. This bill has passed the Assembly but does not have a companion bill in the Senate.

A07191 prohibits the disposal of electronic equipment in solid waste facilities.

Fairs, Shopping Centers and Amusement Park Recycling Mandate

A05409 sponsored by Assemblyman Boyland, Democrat from Manhattan, provides that fairs, shopping centers and amusement parks shall provide recycling containers and participate in available recycling programs.