The Maryland Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) delivered 7,500 signed petitions to Gov. Martin O’Malley in support of a bottle bill.
The bottle bill would mean $.05 back in consumer’s pockets for each can or bottle recycled in Maryland.
“With the bottle bill, Maryland has the opportunity to get to an achievable goal of 80 percent container recycling by 2020,” said Joanna Guy with PIRG.
Under the proposed bottle bill, consumers would bring their bottles and cans to deposit spots and redeem them for cash.
The bill also proposes distributors change their labels to reflect a $.05 redeemable deposit by April 2015. If approved, the program is expected to go into effect in 2016.
Maryland’s deposit refund campaign is being led by an industry consortium. Owens-Illinois and Alcoa are the driving force between the 2013 refund bill, supported by a number of environmental organizations including the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Maryland League of Conservation Voters, Abell Foundation, Environmental Finance Center at the University of Maryland, National Aquarium in Baltimore, Alice Ferguson Foundation, Blue Water Baltimore and the Anacostia Watershed Society.
Published in the March 2014 Edition of American Recycler News