When we take a walk on our little dirt road we usually find litter to pick up for proper disposal including bottles and cans. I wonder how bad it might be if Vermont had no Bottle Bill, which passed in the ’70s. But now the beverage industry is lobbying to repeal our Bottle Bill. We can’t let them trash our Bottle Bill.
Instead, let’s make the bill deeper to include more containers for: water, juice, sports drinks, etc. These containers are the same as other redeemables, so why not include them in the Bottle Bill? A deeper capacity bill would hold more containers for recycling, reducing litter.
Also, let’s not lose the unredeemed deposits we could have when bottles don’t make it to redemption centers. About $2 million could be used for statewide environmental or clean-up programs, yet every year this money leaves the system and is taken by the bottle industry. We need to keep what’s ours.
Since the ’70s the deposit has remained a nickel, which won’t get you what it did back then. So let’s increase the deposit to a dime, doubling the incentive to redeem containers, resulting in a cleaner Vermont.
Don’t let them trash our bottle bill. Let’s be sensible for all of us — strengthen it!
Michael Doran
Vergennes