DUTCHESS LEGISLATURE GETS BEHIND EXPANDED STATE BOTTLE BILL

Dutchess County Legislature Minority Leader Roger Higgins was the co-sponsor, along with Legislator Joel Tyner, of a resolution passed on March 12th, putting the Dutchess County Legislature on record of supporting an expanded state bottle bill.  Specifically, the legislature went on record as supporting an increase of the nickel deposit on previously excluded beverage containers such as bottled water containers, ice tea containers, juice drinks, and sport and high energy containers.

Legislator Tyner commented, “. . . many of the more popular drinks today have escaped the nickel deposit because they were not popular back in 1982 when the bill was first adopted.  Some didn’t even exist.  Adding a nickel deposit on these drinks just makes sense, and it is clearly in the spirit of the original law.”

While commenting from the floor of the legislature during the discussion of the resolution, Minority Leader Higgins pointed to a dozen or so assorted bottles and cans that he personally picked up along county roads.  Higgins brought the bottles and cans to the legislative chamber to highlight the now exempt beverages and show how they add to our litter stream and negatively impact the environment.  “Each year, our county Public Works staff spends time and money picking up these items.  Hopefully, the nickel deposit will be an incentive for people to return the containers, rather than litter our highways with them.”

Higgins and Tyner point out that each year these currently exempt non-carbonated beverage containers make up 62% of the bottles and cans piling up along our shorelines, beaches and roads.  Adding the nickel deposit on these containers is projected to divert 2.5 billion additional containers each year from New York’s waste stream, while reducing broken glass and other litter by more than 10%.