BOTTLE BILL: Proponents of a bill to expand a state bottle recycling program cited increased momentum in the final weeks of the Senate session, pointing to a compromise proposal that emerged from committee as evidence. The current program adds a 5-cent deposit onto the cost of carbonated beverages that may be redeemed by consumers who bring them to designated recycling centers. Proponents say the program has helped increase recycling rates for those bottles, but that the current law omits bottled water and sports drinks, which have proliferated in recent years. A bill to include those types of bottles in the program gained some momentum toward the end of the session but ultimately never saw the floor of either branch.
From the State House News Service