By: Alex Kuffner, Providence Journal
PROVIDENCE – More than half of Rhode Islanders support the passage of a bottle bill, while less than a third oppose it, according to a new poll.
The survey, commissioned by Save The Bay, asked 400 registered voters their opinions about the state’s recycling system and a proposal to create a redemption program for beverage containers.
When given a basic description of the proposal to require a refundable 10-cent deposit on all purchases of drinks in bottles, cans, plastics and other recyclable materials, 55% of respondents said they were in support while 36% said they were opposed.
After they were given a summary of arguments for and against the program, support climbed to 58% and opposition dropped to 31%, according to the survey conducted by the Mellman Group in February.
In its summary of the argument in support, the survey cited the long history of bottle bills in other states, which have seen big reductions in litter and much better recycling rates. On the other side of the issue, the survey said that opponents call the bottle deposit a tax because it would be hard to redeem for some and would raise the price of a 12-pack of soda by $1.20.
Jed Thorp, director of advocacy for Save The Bay, believes the results demonstrate a clear mandate in support of a redemption program for beverage containers and bolster efforts to pass legislation this General Assembly session that would create one.
“Even when presented with the strongest messages on both sides, people still supported it pretty heavily,” he said.
Could this finally be the year of a bottle bill for RI?
The extent of that support among lawmakers will be determined in the coming weeks.
A special commission on plastic bottle waste created by the legislature in 2023 has been meeting for well over a year, hearing from other states where bottle bills have been heralded as successes and from beverage container manufacturers who support the programs, but there are still divisions among its members.
While environmental advocates and most of the lawmakers who sit on the panel, including the two co-chairs, have expressed strong support for a redemption program, representatives of the beverage industry in Rhode Island have reservations about how much it would cost to set up and how exactly it would work.
The commission is set to meet on Monday to discuss its final report and start hammering out recommendations. In the meantime, Thorp, who is a member of the commission, is working with others on a bill to be submitted this session.
He says the proposal will attempt to address some of the concerns of beverage companies by following the lead of other states and putting the system in the hands of an independent entity, rather than the state, that could set up free-standing kiosks for the collection of used containers. It’s a plan that has the support of some of the biggest manufacturers of drink containers.
Rep. Carol McEntee, the South Kingstown Democrat who is one of the commission co-chairs, said that when it’s ready, she plans to introduce the legislation in the House. She and other supporters of the bill have been meeting with House and Senate leadership in recent weeks to try and win their backing.
In a joint statement, House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi and Senate President Dominick Ruggerio acknowledged the meetings with stakeholders but said that “nothing is finalized at this point.”
“On Monday, we expect the commission to issue its report and findings, and we look forward to reviewing their recommendations.”
Said McEntee, “I’m hopeful, but I know it’s going to be a heavy lift.”
Evidence shows that bottle bills can work
Bottle bills are a form of what’s known as extended producer responsibility – a policy that puts the burden on companies to manage the waste their products generate. They work by charging a fee to consumers when they buy a beverage and then refunding them that money when the empty container is returned to be recycled.
Nine of the 10 states with the highest recycling rates in the country have bottle bills, according to The 50 States of Recycling, a nationwide analysis of recycling systems. The recycling rates for the top states range from 39% to 65%. In contrast, Rhode Island, which ranks 26th in the nation, has a rate of just 17%.
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Redemption programs boost recycling by segregating beverage containers from other types of material, making them easier to reuse. For example, because glass bottles that pass through the single-stream recycling system in Rhode Island get mixed with fiber, plastic and other materials, none are recycled. Instead, they’re ground up and used as cover on the Central Landfill in Johnston.
However, in Oregon, which has the most effective redemption program in the nation, the recycling rate for glass bottles is 51%. The Oregon program, which is run by an independent nonprofit, and the program in Maine, which works with a private company, have been cited as possible models for Rhode Island…
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