WASHINGTON -- Sen. Jim Jeffords, an Independent from Vermont, has introduced legislation that would make the beverage industry responsible for increasing bottle and can recycling.

Under Jeffords´ proposal, soft drink, beer and other beverage companies would be required to develop plans for a 10-cent refundable deposit on beverage containers with a goal of achieving an 80 percent national recycling rate.

The recycling rate for 1999 on all beverage containers was about 41 percent, according to the Container Recycling Institute, which cited a report by Businesses and Environmentalists Allied for Recycling. However, the National Soft Drink Association, representing soft drink manufacturers, estimated the current beverage container recycling rate at closer to 55 percent.

The beverage companies would have to submit their plans to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for approval.

"This legislation will increase recycling, reduce litter, save energy, create jobs, decrease the generation of waste and proliferation of landfills, and supply recyclable materials for a high-demand market," Jeffords said.

The beverage industry opposes deposits, saying it favors community recycling programs, which are more convenient for consumers and less expensive, said Drew Davis, vice president of federal affairs for the National Soft Drink Association. The association also considers the 80 percent recycling rate unrealistic.

Jeffords has introduced similar legislation in the past without success, but said he is more optimistic this time because he now chairs the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Jeffords plans to hold hearings on his bill this summer.
More than 114 billion beverage containers were thrown away rather than recycled in 1999, representing a 50 percent increase in bottle and can waste since 1992, according to the Container Recycling Institute, a nonprofit organization based in Arlington, Va. "Marketing strategies and packaging choices made by beverage companies are key factors in the growing waste problem," CRI Executive Director Pat Franklin said.

The number of beverage containers recycled in the 10 states that have enacted their own deposit laws exceed the number of cans and bottles recycled in all the other 40 states together, said Bill Sheehan, executive director of the GrassRoots Recycling Network, based in Athens, Ga.

"What´s new about the Jeffords approach is that it will result in a system designed by beverage producers, not imposed on them," Sheehan said.

Beverage producers, however, argue they should not be held to a higher recycling standard than other industries. For example, only 16 percent of milk containers are recycled, yet they would be exempt from Jeffords´ bill, said Preston Reed, a spokesman for the National Soft Drink Association. In addition, beverage containers make up only about 3 percent of the waste stream, according to the association. "If you look at some of the other materials out there, it leaves you scratching your head as to why beverage containers are being singled out here," Reed said.

The bill could result in penalties for companies failing to achieve the 80 percent recycling rate.

Representatives of the Container Recycling Institute, the Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund, Friends of the Earth, the GrassRoots Recycling Network and the Natural Resources Defense Council joined Jeffords in announcing the legislation.
Contact Waste News government affairs editor Bruce Geiselman at (330) 865-6172 or bgeiselman@crain.com

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