Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts has proposed amending the state’s bottle bill to increase the diversion rate. But some of his changes have redemption center operators worried about how they will be affected.
“The proposed changes are to add bottled water, fruit juices, sport drinks, iced tea and other non-carbonated beverages, as well as wine and liquor, to the definition of ‘beverage,’ and thus subject them all to deposit,” Peter Allison, branch chief, commercial waste reduction, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, says.
The deposit amount for wine and liquor containers would be 15 cents. All other beverage containers would have 5-cent deposits, Allison reports.
Christi Muise, president of the Massachusetts Redemption Coalition, Hudson, says her group is protesting the expansion and organizing a boycott of glass in response to the proposed modifications.
“We are struggling to stay alive now,” Muise says. “Glass is the most labor-intensive thing that we do.” Muise says that by expanding redemptions to liquor and wine bottles, which are primarily packaged in glass, redemption centers will go broke attempting to handle the materials because of inherent problems with the current deposit system in Massachusetts.
Muise cites the government’s lack of interest in enforcing the rules and regulations outlined by the bottle bill as the primary reason for the dissent from the redemption centers toward the expanded program.
She adds that the redemption centers in the state have to rely on Tomra, a manufacturer of reverse vending machines for bottle deposit systems, to transport their containers for processing. Muise contends that Tomra has had shortcomings in picking up the loads or paying on time.
“The distributors set this up,” she says. “They want control over the program. They want the machines in and want us out.”
Muise adds that the 1-cent handling fee on each container is the only source of income for the redemption centers. Since the bottle bill went into effect, the cost of living has increased 80 percent, she says, but the handling fee has not been adjusted to reflect that. She adds that if the state increased the handling fee by a penny, her margins would be improved sufficiently to continue operating.
Originally, Muise says, the Massachusetts Redemption Coalition stood behind the expansion, but in light of “unfair business practices” and the static handling fee, the group has reconsidered its position. In the meantime, Muise says, the coalition is hiring a lawyer and filing suit against the state.
“The bottle bill is a good thing, but it doesn’t work without redemption centers,” she says.