A message from Dewayne Johnson of Iowa Recycling Assoc. The 2005 Iowa Legislative Session started this week and one of the key issues lawmakers will be dealing with is the "bottle bill." IT IS ESSENTIAL that everyone take a moment and write a short letter to each of the members of the House Environmental Protection and Senate Natural Resources Committee. At this time of the legislative session an old fashioned letter is the best means of communication, later in the session the use of e-mail will be fine. And yes it is a lot of people to write to, but we have to show each lawmaker on these key committees that their vote to support us is essential. Tell them: * The only way to keep Iowa's roadsides clean and continue the state's impressive rate of recycling bottles and cans is to require those who wish to sell beverages, covered by the bottle bill, to also redeem them. * Increase the handling fee paid to redemption centers to at least 2-cents per can or bottle from the current 1-cent rate. The handling fee has not been increased since the original bottle bill was passed in 1978. * It is essential that the Department of Natural Resources be given the power to enforce bottle bill rules and regulations in the same way they enforce rules governing waste tires and other recycling issues. House Environmental Protection Committee members to contact: Rep. Sandi Greiner Rep. Richard Anderson Rep. Don Shoultz Rep. Betty De Bouf Rep. Bill Dix Rep. Jack Drake Rep. Ed Fallon Rep. Mary Gaskill Rep. Lisa Heddens Rep. Lance Horbach Rep. Dan Huseman Rep. Bob Kressig Rep. Mark Kuhn Rep. Jim Kurtenbach Rep. Gene Maddox Rep. Steve Olson Rep. Donovan Olson Rep. Dawn Pettengill Rep. J.K. (Jim) Van Fossen Rep. Ralph Watts Rep. Beth Wessel-Kroeschell Senate Natural Resources Committee Members: Sen. Hubert Houser Sen. Dennis Black Sen. Joe Bolkcom Sen. Dick Dearden Sen. Thurman Gaskill Sen. Tom Hancock Sen. David Johnson Sen. Steve Kettering Sen. Mary Lundby Sen. David Miller Sen. John Putney Sen. Brian Schoenjahn Sen. Joe Seng Sen. Frank Wood Address for all lawmakers: The Honorable (lawmakers name) Iowa State Capitol Building Des Moines, IA 50319 Please be sure to mail your letters so they arrive no later than next Thursday (January 20th, 2005) ===== Dewayne Johnson, Executive Director Iowa Recycling Association 2742 SE Market Street Des Moines, IA 50317 515.265.1596 (phone) 515.265.6690 (fax) www.iowarecycles.org - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 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/