US Massachusetts Bottle Bill is “outdated” and needs reform to boost return rates, say environmentalists

30 Jun 2023 --- The Massachusetts’s Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy is demanding the expansion and modernization of the state’s Bottle Bill program by raising the bottle deposit rate and including more beverage containers in the scheme. 

Currently, the Massachusetts system exclusively includes soda and beer bottles and cans, and the redeemable deposit is US$0.5. “It is behind most, if not all, of the nine other states that have bottle and can return systems in the US. Of course, Washington, DC and forty other states don’t have redemption laws at all, so we are ahead of them,” Kirstie Pecci, executive director at Just Zero, tells Packaging Insights. 

If signed into law, the bill would increase the bottle deposit to US$0.10 and add more types of beverage containers to the program, putting a deposit on water bottles, juice, hard seltzer, iced tea, coffee and sports drinks. The bill would also increase access to redemption points, making it easier and more convenient for consumers to return their empties. 

Increasing the deposit to US$0.10 would immediately increase return rates, asserts Pecci. “We have seen that work very well in Michigan and Oregon’s systems. If US$0.10 is not enough, the bill includes a trigger that would increase the deposit again when needed.”

“I have attached written testimony from Susan Collins of the Container Recycling Institute regarding the Massachusetts Bottle Bill – please see page two for a chart about the impact of increasing the deposit in the US.”Chart about the impact of increasing the beverage bottle deposit in the US (Image credit: Susan Collins).

Move toward refill and reuse
Beverage container deposit return systems (DRS) effectively reduce litter and divert recyclable materials from the waste stream, saving municipalities money and protecting the environment and public health from the harms of relying on landfills and incineration for waste management, explains Just Zero’s executive director.

Through the Bottle Bill, consumers pay extra for every bottle or can of beer or soda they purchase. They get that money back when returning the empty container for recycling. The program creates a steady stream of clean, recyclable materials that can be used to produce new bottles and cans. 

If signed into law, the bill would increase the bottle deposit and add more types of containers to the program.“Expanding and modernizing our beverage container DRS also moves us in the right direction toward being able to replace single-use beverage containers with refillable and reusable ones,” says Mara Shulman, senior attorney at the Conservation Law Foundation. 

“This will go a long way toward helping Massachusetts meet its emissions reduction targets to achieve a net-zero economy by 2050. Even more than recycling, refilling beverage containers will significantly reduce GHG emissions.” 

An outdated bill?
In 1981, Massachusetts became the seventh state to adopt a Bottle Bill. Since then, the program has reduced litter and increased recycling rates. However, the program hasn’t been meaningfully updated or modernized in the four decades since the law was enacted. 

As a result, Massachusetts’ return rate has declined over the past dozen years from a high of 71% in 2010 to a low of 43% in 2020. 

In the country’s Northeastern region, more than 400 beverage containers per person are buried, burned or littered each year. While the region is home to five of the nation’s ten states with bottle bills, the laws are outdated and the industry has resisted reform, criticizes Pecci. “Modernized bottle bills that incentivize consumers and make it easy to return beverage containers are the way forward,” she says.

“This [the bill reform] is a tremendous opportunity for Massachusetts. Expanding and modernizing the Bottle Bill will make Massachusetts’ most successful recycling program even stronger. The bill will increase recycling, reduce litter and help create new green jobs. This is long overdue, Just Zero urges the legislature to support this commonsense and important proposal.” 

By Natalie Schwertheim