Laurie's questions get to the true concerns about the current bottle law.   

There is a legislative committee working on dedicated funding for natural
resources.  They will make a presentation to the legislature this month, and
then hopefully we will begin the process of considering an amendment to the
Iowa Constitution for dedicated funding for natural resources (including the
REAP program).

If the Register is correctly stating Culver's plan, then we know how small
he is thinking.

Donna



-----Original Message-----
From: Iowa Discussion, Alerts and Announcements
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of laura belin
Sent: Saturday, January 12, 2008 6:18 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Culver wants to double can and bottle deposit

This Des Moines Register article is not that
well-written. Does anyone know more details?

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080112/NEWS10/
801120328/1001/NEWS

Excerpt:
Gov. Chet Culver said Friday that he will ask the
Legislature to double the 5-cent deposit collected on
bottles and cans, using a share of the new money to
fund the state's centerpiece environmental program.

Culver told the Associated Press during an interview
that expanding the bottle deposit law and using the
bulk of the proceeds to finance the Resource
Enhancement and Protection Program would bring
together two significant environmental efforts.
Advertisement

He called the environmental fund "one of the most
successful environmental programs in the state's
history" and said doubling the bottle deposit would
continue its success.

Under Culver's plan, grocery stores and other
retailers that collect the 10-cent deposit would be
allowed to keep a penny to cover the costs of handling
returned bottles and cans, and 1 cent under the new
rate would go to the environmental program. Consumers
would get back 8 cents of their 10-cent deposit, said
Culver spokesman Brad Anderson.

______


If I am reading this correctly, it means the governor
does not want to double the amount retailers get to
keep for handling the cans and bottles--does anyone
know if that's correct? 

I thought it was pretty well agreed that handlers need
to be able to keep two cents rather than just a penny,
which is what they've gotten for the last 30 years.

Also, I'm not clear on whether the governor would
expand the bill to cover beverage containers that are
not currently subject to the deposit. Anyone know?

Do people think tying REAP funding to this would be on
balance a good thing or a bad thing?

Laurie Belin

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
To unsubscribe from the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to:
[log in to unmask]

Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information:
http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp

Sign up to receive Sierra Club Insider, the flagship
e-newsletter. Sent out twice a month, it features the Club's
latest news and activities. Subscribe and view recent
editions at http://www.sierraclub.org/insider/

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
To unsubscribe from the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to:
[log in to unmask]

Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information:
http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp