Who is a member?
Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
The Honorable Mark J. Cusack, House Chair
The Honorable Michael J. Barrett, Senate Chair
Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy
State House, Boston
Delivered electronically
Dear Chair Cusack, Chair Barrett, and Distinguished Members of the Committee,
On behalf of the 351 cities and towns of the Commonwealth, the Massachusetts Municipal Association would like to offer strong support for H. 3474 and S. 2245, An Act to Expand the Bottle Bill, and H. 3464, An Act to Update the Bottle Bill. This legislation would assist cities and towns with the heavy financial and environmental burden they currently carry: the various containers not currently captured by the 1983 Massachusetts Beverage Container Deposit Law.
An updated and expanded bottle bill would support cities and towns, reduce contamination in our recycling stream, fund critical solid waste and recycling initiatives, and reinvigorate the public’s interest in redeeming eligible bottles.
The results of passing this legislation to modernize the deposit return system legislation would reduce the volume of solid waste and recycling managed by cities and towns. This shift would be a net benefit to local taxpayers because the era where recycling was profitable to cities and towns has unfortunately come and gone. Over the past several years, municipalities have witnessed drastic cost increases in their solid waste management and recycling processing costs. Local governments across the Commonwealth have asked for help to reduce the amount of waste being managed at the city and town level, and have dedicated time and effort to educating residents about what can and cannot be recycled or diverted from the trash.
A stronger bottle bill would greatly assist cities and towns by expanding the number of eligible containers for deposit. This would get the containers that are most commonly used by residents back to the manufacturers and distributors of those bottles, who know exactly what they are made of and how they can best be recycled. We also anticipate that a wider scope of applicability for the deposit return system would incentivize manufacturers to improve the recyclability of their products and help to reduce waste and contamination from the source. Residents and visitors all appreciate more consistent recycling information, a task that cities and towns have dutifully taken on in their efforts to sort out recyclable items in municipal waste streams, respond to new age containers and questions from residents, and try to tackle litter items in their communities.
H. 3474, S. 2245, and H.3464 would also reinstate the Clean Environment Fund, which would capture funding from unclaimed deposits and dedicate it toward recycling and solid waste management projects. This circular framework to the deposit return system would reinvest funds back to solve common headaches and pain points in our recycling network, helping to bolster local recyclers and support bottle manufacturers and retailers by devoting these funds to environmental and sustainability causes. The Clean Environment Fund is a critical element to this legislation, and cities and towns would be deeply concerned should it not be included in future versions of this policy. We also greatly appreciate other legislative efforts, including H. 3463, An Act to restore the environmental fund, to tackle this as a standalone fix to the current bottle bill. We see these various legislative efforts as reinforcement that the Clean Environment Fund is a necessary part of the solution.
Finally, we wish to express that an updated bottle bill would help to reinvigorate the public’s interest in redemption. We have seen examples from other states, counties, and countries that prove that redemption systems work. The $0.05 deposit on a bottle is not as compelling as it was in 1983. The Massachusetts Municipal Association and our 351 member communities stand strong in our belief that a $0.10 deposit would provide a much needed refresh to this framework, which was intended to protect our environment, promote recycling, and reduce litter.
Cities and towns are still actively engaged in meeting these goals, and need your help and assistance. Many variables from the last few years have made this an even more pressing issue for local governments than it was when the state considered a referendum question on this issue back in 2014. Now is the time to update the deposit return system to incorporate more bottles, reinstate the Clean Environment Fund, and increase the deposit.
We thank you for your close review of the various legislative efforts to update and modernize the bottle bill, and we stand ready to assist you in evaluating the municipal impacts and benefits of the policy proposals before you.
We deeply appreciate your partnership on this topic and in our shared efforts to help residents, businesses, cities and towns, and the entire Commonwealth progress on our sustainability goals and our ongoing environmental responsibilities. If you have any questions or desire further information, please do not hesitate to have your office contact me or MMA Legislative Analyst Josie Ahlberg at any time.
Sincerely,
Adam Chapdelaine
MMA Executive Director and CEO