File #: Res 0142-2006    Version: * Name: Amend the Returnable Beverage Container Law "Bottle Deposit Law" or "Bottle Bill" (S.1290-C/A.2517-C)
Type: Resolution Status: Filed
Committee: Committee on Sanitation and Solid Waste Management
On agenda: 3/1/2006
Enactment date: Law number:
Title: Resolution calling upon the New York State Legislature to amend the Returnable Beverage Container Law, commonly know as the “Bottle Deposit Law” or “Bottle Bill,” through the passage of Senate bill S.1290-C and Assembly bill A.2517-C to expand the scope of the law to include non-carbonated beverage containers and to return unclaimed deposits to municipalities.
Sponsors: G. Oliver Koppell, Vincent J. Gentile, Melissa Mark-Viverito, James Sanders, Jr., David I. Weprin, Helen D. Foster
Council Member Sponsors: 6
Date Ver.Prime SponsorAction ByActionResultAction DetailsMeeting DetailsMultimedia
12/31/2009*G. Oliver Koppell City Council Filed (End of Session)  Action details Meeting details Not available
3/1/2006*G. Oliver Koppell City Council Referred to Comm by Council  Action details Meeting details Not available
3/1/2006*G. Oliver Koppell City Council Introduced by Council  Action details Meeting details Not available

Res. No. 142

 

Resolution calling upon the New York State Legislature to amend the Returnable Beverage Container Law, commonly know as the “Bottle Deposit Law” or “Bottle Bill,” through the passage of Senate bill S.1290-C and Assembly bill A.2517-C to expand the scope of the law to include non-carbonated beverage containers and to return unclaimed deposits to municipalities.

 

By Council Members Koppell, Gentile, Mark-Viverito, Sanders Jr., Weprin and Foster

 

                     Whereas, In July 1983, the New York State Legislature enacted the Returnable Beverage Container Law, also know as the “Bottle Deposit Bill” or “Bottle Bill” to require a minimum 5-cent deposit on many bottles and cans; and

                     Whereas, The “Bottle Bill” has been successful in removing litter from the streets and has reduced the amount of solid waste disposed of, while fostering the recycling and reuse of the containers on which it required a deposit; and

                     Whereas, As a result of this bill, 78,000 tons of containers per year are eliminated from the City of New York’s waste stream, saving the City a minimum of $4,212,000 in export costs; and

                     Whereas, In the twenty-three years since the passage of the “Bottle Bill” the types of beverages being consumed in recyclable containers has increased and changed dramatically; and

Whereas, Many of the beverages consumed in individual containers today were not envisioned in 1983, including beverages such as iced tea, bottled water, sports drinks and fruit juices which were virtually not sold in individual plastic or glass containers, while now they are as common as carbonated beverages; and

                     Whereas, There is no rational justification for not including these containers in the definition of beverages under the law requiring a deposit, and Senate bill S.1290-C and Assembly bill A.2517-C seek to remedy this by expanding the definition of "recyclable container" to include all containers for non-carbonated beverages, with the exception of liquor, wine and milk; and 

                     Whereas, The Returnable Beverage Container Law is now recognized as the single most effective law in our state’s history at diminishing litter and encouraging recycling, and individuals should now be subject to this law irrespective of whether they consumed a carbonated soft drink, bottled water, a fruit juice or sports drink; and

                     Whereas, Senate bill S.1290-C and Assembly bill A.2517-C would require all unclaimed deposits to be remitted to the New York Department of Taxation and Finance to be deposited in a Solid Waste Account of the Environmental Protection Fund and would be returned to localities for use in municipal recycling and waste reduction projects; and

                     Whereas, The uncollected deposits from the 5-cent deposit retained by the bottle distributors, currently amount to $107 million per year for New York City alone under the current bottle bill and would increase to $150 million per year under the expanded bottle bill; and

                     Whereas, These amounts, representing citizen funds, should be returned to the municipalities that must pay to collect and dispose of the uncollected bottles and cans, and be used to bolster recycling programs and ensure that they are effective; and

                     Whereas, Senate bill S.1290-C and Assembly bill A.2517-C, by placing a deposit on non-carbonated beverage containers, would create a positive economic incentive for consumers to properly dispose of many additional beverage containers and put the burden of recycling used beverage containers on their manufacturers; now, therefore, be it

 

                     Resolved, The Council of the City of New York calls upon the New York State Legislature to amend the Returnable Beverage Container Law, commonly know as the “Bottle Deposit Law” or “Bottle Bill,” through the passage of Senate bill S.1290-C and Assembly bill A.2517-C to expand the scope of the law to include non-carbonated beverage containers and to return unclaimed deposits to municipalities.

 

 

LS#376

CJC-2/14/06