Renewed push for Bigger Better Bottle Bill in NY

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10)--- There is a renewed push by advocates to get the Bigger Better Bottle Bill across the finish line this legislative session

In New York, when you return water bottles and carbonated drink containers, you get five cents back. Environmental advocates want to expand the list of beverages eligible for a deposit.

Blair Horner with New York Public Interest Research Group, said this will be beneficial in reducing the amount of waste in landfills. 

"You can reduce the amount of garbage that has to be dealt with or litter in the streets, by expanding the bottle law to all the sports drinks, iced teas, that are currently used and are used all over the place that end up in our landfills that we have to pay for," explained Horner.

The bill would also up the refund value to ten cents.

"If the lawmakers pass that bill, the state will also generate another $100 million dollars that can be used to be programmed for other environmental recycling reduction programs."

According to Horner, that money comes from bottle deposits that are not redeemed.

The Business Council of New York says now is not the time to pass this legislation.

"We also wonder at a time when everyone is focused on consumer affordability, why you’d want to add to the upfront cost to consumers," said Ken Pokalsky, Vice President of Government Affairs for the Business Council.

Instead, the Business Council of New York would like to see a different approach called the Expanded Producer Responsibility program enacted.

"The businesses that make the materials that end up in our single source recovery blue boxes are given the legal and financial responsibility to ensure that material is collected and processed in a way that it can be reused— whether it’s remanufactured into product or reused as is, or composted."

Lawmakers will be re-introducing the Bigger Better Bottle Bill this session.