Pour unclaimed bottle-deposit money into
environmental fund, advocates say
Rally for
conservation cause urges passage of bill that backers say will raise
$179M
Staten Island Advance - March 18, 2005
Students and environmental advocates rallied at the
College of Staten Island in Willowbrook yesterday to urge state
lawmakers to amend the bottle bill so unclaimed bottle deposits
would accrue to the state Environmental Protection Fund.
The Bigger, Better Bottle Bill — sponsored by Assemblyman Thomas
DiNapoli and state Sen. Kenneth LaValle, both Long Island Democrats
— also calls for expanding the nickel deposit on beer and soda
containers to noncarbonated beverages in bottles and cans, including
sports drinks, iced tea, water and juice.
“We’re hoping this is going to be the year,” said Daniel Botting of
the bill, co-sponsored by 40 Assembly members, including Assemblyman
John Lavelle (D-North Shore), and five state senators, including
Sen. John Marchi (R-Staten Island).
Botting is project coordinator for CSI’s chapter of the New York
Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG).
The bill first was introduced in 2002, but has never made it to the
floor of either chamber for a vote.
If passed, the updated version of the Returnable Container Act of
1983 would mean $179 million for the environmental fund, according
to the bill.
“When are they going to take this pot of gold?” Botting asked. “It
would bring a lot of money for the state.”
Currently, the beverage industry keeps unclaimed deposits, amounting
to tens of millions of dollars each year.
About a dozen students attended the 20-minute news conference held
at the CSI’s Green Dolphin Lounge.
Joshua Center, a sophomore, was dressed as a leprechaun with a long,
brown beard and a green hat, and held a black pot with bottle caps
spray-painted gold.
Daniel Beyer, environmental protection project leader for NYPIRG at
CSI, said elected officials have a responsibility to update the
bottle bill to reduce the amount of trash that goes to landfills and
to boost environmental programs.
“We all share responsibility for keeping our community clean and
healthy, but our leaders in Albany are not doing their part,” he
said. “I just hope this bigger, better bottle bill is passed. It
just makes sense.”
Barbara Toborg, a conservation coordinator for the American Littoral
Society, said bottles and cans that do not fetch a deposit end up in
waterways and on beaches more frequently than those with a deposit.
“The next time you see a bottle on the street, it’ll he a water
bottle,” Ms. Tohorg said. “We have to give these bottles value so
they don’t end up in the waste stream.”
By
Glenn Nyback
Reprinted here with permission from the
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