From Dewayne Johnson of Iowa Recycling Association, forwarded by Jane Clark (Apologies for cross-posting) Hawaii Container Law is First in 20 Years HONOLULU, Hawaii, May 2, 2002 (ENS) - Hawaii has become the 11th U.S. state to pass beverage container deposit legislation, and the first state in 20 years to enact a so called bottle bill. The five cent beverage container deposit bill will help Hawaii address its shrinking landfill space, create recycling jobs, and reduce bottle and can litter from beaches and roadways. "Passing the bottle bill is a major victory for Hawaii's environment. Hawaii is paradise. We want to keep it that way," said Jeff Mikulina, director of the Sierra Club's Hawaii chapter. "With shrinking landfill space and an economy that is dependent on a clean environment, the bottle bill makes sense for Hawaii." Hawaii uses about 800 million beverage containers each year. About 20 percent of those containers are now recycled statewide. A recent national report, co-sponsored by the beverage industry, found that states with bottle bills recover 80 percent of their beverage container waste. Studies also show that states with bottle bills witnessed a 60 to 80 percent decrease in beverage container litter after enactment of the measures. Hawaii's bottle bill will place a nickel deposit on all glass, plastic and aluminum beverage containers, which the consumer can recoup by bringing the empty container back for recycling. Redemption centers and retail stores over a certain size would be required to accept the recyclable bottles and cans. "Bottle bills work," continued Mikulina. "They provide a real incentive for people to recycle and an incentive not to litter. The 10 states with bottle bills found that bottle and can litter has virtually disappeared. With the bottle bill, we will not only reduce the pressure on our landfills, but we will also improve the safety of our beaches and protect our ocean ecosystem." The last states to pass nickel deposit bottle bills were Delaware and Massachusetts in 1982. Many of the measures introduced by states since then have been opposed by the beverage industry. Over the past 20 years, beverage industry opponents have spent tens of millions on defeating bottle bills around the country, out spending proponents by as much as 30 to one, the Sierra Club charges. In 1996, $3 million was spent to defeat a bottle bill expansion initiative in Oregon. The Sierra Club estimates that the beverage industry spent upwards of $100,000 attempting to stop the Hawaii bottle bill. --- Dewayne Johnson, Executive Director Iowa Recycling Association 2742 SE Market Street Des Moines, IA 50317 Phone: 515.265.1596 Fax: 515.265.6690 Cell: 515.240.7722 [log in to unmask] http://www.iowarecycles.org - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - For SC email list T-and-C, send: GET TERMS-AND-CONDITIONS.CURRENT to [log in to unmask]