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Log inAugusta: 30-year-old bottle law part of state ethic
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Augusta: 30-year-old bottle law part of state ethic
by Outspoken on Mon Jul 14, 2008 6:33 am
Augusta: 30-year-old bottle law part of state ethic
By Mal Leary
Capitol News Service
Bangor Daily News
AUGUSTA, Maine - Thirty years ago this summer, Mainers started to pay deposits on beverage containers and began what has become a tradition of recycling those containers instead of throwing them into the trash.
"Before the bottle law was passed, we had bottles and cans all over the place," said Pete Didishiem of the Natural Resources Council of Maine. "It has now become so much a part of our ethic, when Mainers go to other states where they do not have this kind of law, it just doesn’t make sense to us."
That has not always been true. Lawmakers in 1976 were so heavily lobbied, the legislation moved forward only after an amendment was added to send the issue to the voters at referendum. It was opposed by bottlers and distributors that mounted a major media campaign against the measure, but voters passed it 58 percent to 42 percent.
The same group of bottlers and distributors tried again in 1978 to defeat the measure by using the petition process to force another referendum. Even after another major advertising campaign, voters supported the law by one of the widest margins in state history, with 84 percent in favor and 16 percent opposed.
"People saw it was working," Didishiem said. "Roadside trash was down 75 to 80 percent. It has had broad public support since then."
One group that opposed the legislation 30 years ago was the Maine Beverage Association, which represents many bottlers and distributors in the state. Director Newell Augur agrees that the law has broad support today.
"Our members look on it as a cost of doing business," he said. "People expect now to recycle their containers, but we are only a small part, about 5 percent, of the entire waste stream."
The law was expanded in 1990 to include liquor and wine bottles, bottled water, fruit juices and bottled tea. In 2003 the law was changed to cover all beverage containers, except dairy products and unprocessed cider. The deposit is 5 cents per container, except liquor and wine bottles that require a 15 cent deposit.
http://bangornews.com/news/t/news.aspx?articleid=167063&zoneid=500
By Mal Leary
Capitol News Service
Bangor Daily News
AUGUSTA, Maine - Thirty years ago this summer, Mainers started to pay deposits on beverage containers and began what has become a tradition of recycling those containers instead of throwing them into the trash.
"Before the bottle law was passed, we had bottles and cans all over the place," said Pete Didishiem of the Natural Resources Council of Maine. "It has now become so much a part of our ethic, when Mainers go to other states where they do not have this kind of law, it just doesn’t make sense to us."
That has not always been true. Lawmakers in 1976 were so heavily lobbied, the legislation moved forward only after an amendment was added to send the issue to the voters at referendum. It was opposed by bottlers and distributors that mounted a major media campaign against the measure, but voters passed it 58 percent to 42 percent.
The same group of bottlers and distributors tried again in 1978 to defeat the measure by using the petition process to force another referendum. Even after another major advertising campaign, voters supported the law by one of the widest margins in state history, with 84 percent in favor and 16 percent opposed.
"People saw it was working," Didishiem said. "Roadside trash was down 75 to 80 percent. It has had broad public support since then."
One group that opposed the legislation 30 years ago was the Maine Beverage Association, which represents many bottlers and distributors in the state. Director Newell Augur agrees that the law has broad support today.
"Our members look on it as a cost of doing business," he said. "People expect now to recycle their containers, but we are only a small part, about 5 percent, of the entire waste stream."
The law was expanded in 1990 to include liquor and wine bottles, bottled water, fruit juices and bottled tea. In 2003 the law was changed to cover all beverage containers, except dairy products and unprocessed cider. The deposit is 5 cents per container, except liquor and wine bottles that require a 15 cent deposit.
http://bangornews.com/news/t/news.aspx?articleid=167063&zoneid=500
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Plato (427-347 BC)
Plato (427-347 BC)
