Is It Time to Increase or Eliminate Connecticut's Bottle Bill?

Last edited Mon Mar 20, 2017, 08:41 AM - Edit history (1)

HARTFORD, CT — Several bills this year are aimed at improving or abolishing Connecticut’s decades old bottle bill.

Connecticut is one of 11 states that are “bottle bill” states where consumers can get back the small deposit they pay on bottles and cans at the time of purchase. It initially started in 1980 as an environmental initiative to get the empty containers off the streets.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy proposed doubling down on the bottle bill by increasing the deposit on a can from a nickel to a dime. The idea is that an increase in the deposit would encourage people to return empties at a higher rate. Malloy estimates the proposal would bring in an additional $12 million to the state from those unclaimed bottles and cans that end up in single-stream recycling containers.

The legislature’s Environment Committee heard about two other proposals Monday.

One bill would create a 4 cent bottle recycling fee in lieu of a bottle deposit fee. Another would increase the handling fee for bottle redemption centers.

Read more: http://www.ctnewsjunkie.com/archives/entry/is_it_time_to_increase_or_eliminate_connecticuts_bottle_bill/