Suozzi Joins Environmental & Civic Groups to Urge State to Pass ‘Bigger Better Bottle Bill’

Legislation Would Keep Plastic Bottles Out of Landfills, Fight Litter in Streets & Waterways and Generate More Than  $100 Million for Environmental Fund

Roosevelt, NY (5/15/2008) – Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi and the New York League of Conservation Voters today joined other environmental and civic groups to call on the State Legislature to pass the “Bigger Better Bottle Bill,” an update to the state’s 26-year-old bottle bill.

The new legislation would add a five-cent deposit on non-carbonated beverage bottles such as water, iced tea and sports drinks – which barely existed in 1982, when the state passed the original bill. (The 1982 bill includes a five-cent deposit on carbonated-beverage containers.) The legislation also requires beverage companies to turn over unclaimed nickel deposits to the state, which would generate more than $100 million – and perhaps up to $200 million – a year in new funding for the New York State Environmental Protection Fund (EPF).

Today, non-carbonated drinks make up 27% of the beverage market, and so non-carbonated beverage bottles make up an increasingly large percentage of the waste stream. Only 10% of these non-biodegradable plastic bottles are recycled, and more than 30 million every day end up in our streets, landfills and waterways. In fact, non-deposit, non-carbonated bottles comprise 60% of litter along shorelines. Recycling all of the water bottles used in New York State would save more than 3.3 million barrels of oil and prevent 280,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year.

“We are seeing more and more of these plastic bottles littering our streets, clogging our waterways and sullying our parks and preserves,” Suozzi said. “This bill will encourage recycling and help fight all that litter and landfill – while raising money to help protect our environment for generations to come. I urge both houses of the State Legislature to pass this important bill.”

“Our 26-year old bottle bill has been a phenomenal success at keeping billions of containers out of our landfills and off our streets in the form of roadside litter,” said Governor David A. Paterson. “However, the bottle bill can be made even better if we update it to include categories of containers – like bottled waters, sports drinks and fruit juices – that barely existed in the marketplace when the law was enacted in 1982. We are all indebted to Tom Suozzi for continuing to be a strong advocate for this important, common-sense measure.”

“Since New York’s first bottle bill became law 26 years ago, it has helped us keep countless tons of glass and plastic away from our overflowing landfills, and vastly reduced litter on our roadsides and in our waterways,” said Marcia Bystryn, executive director of the New York League of Conservation Voters.“Now, it’s time to update and improve this legislation to include new categories of beverages like bottled water and sports drinks. I join County Executive Tom Suozzi in calling our leaders in Albany to take this important step toward a cleaner, greener NewYork.”

The Environmental Protection Fund supports a wide range of environmental programs, including open space protection, smart-growth initiatives, funding for recycling and landfill closure and farmland preservation.