Illinois Senate Executive Committee considers bottle bill

Illinois state Sen. Laura Murphy’s bill (SB 85) to create a beverage container recycling refund program in the state went before the Senate Executive Committee for a hearing April 27. The Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI), Washington, and the Illinois Environmental Council (IEC), Springfield, have lauded the move.  

SB 85 would place a refundable fee of 10 cents for containers holding 24 ounces or less, and 15 cents for containers holding more than 24 ounces. Once a consumer is done with a beverage, he or she can return the container to a redemption location to get the refund.

The bill is co-sponsored by Laura Fine (D-Glenview), Sen. Adriane Johnson (D-Buffalo Grove), Sen. Mattie Hunter (D-Chicago), Sen. Julie A. Morrison (D-Lake Forest), Sen. Patrick J. Joyce (D-Essex), Sen. Rachel Ventura (D-Joliet) and Sen. Mike Porfirio (D-Lyons Township).

Bottle deposit programs can reduce litter and provide materials that can be recycled for use in new beverage containers, CMI says. This means manufacturers could use less virgin material to make containers, which, in turn, reduces carbon emissions.

The CMI supports bottle bills as a way to increase the recycling rate for aluminum cans. The organization and its members want to increase the used beverage can (UBC) recycling rate to 70 percent by 2030, 80 percent by 2040 and 90 percent by 2050. The CMI’s “Aluminum Beverage Can Recycling Primer and Roadmap” explains how the UBC recycling rate targets can be achieved.

“Recycling refund programs play a vital role in raising beverage container recycling rates, and this legislation would have a significant impact on improving Illinois’s environment and boosting its economy,” says Scott Breen, CMI vice president of sustainability. “The aluminum in cans has the ability to keep circulating forever since aluminum can be recycled infinitely. This is how 75 percent of all aluminum ever produced is still in circulation.

“CMI is grateful to Sen. Murphy for introducing this bill and for the support of all the co-sponsors. We also appreciate the Executive Committee holding this hearing to move SB 85 forward.”

IEC Executive Director Jen Walling, adds, “Illinois has a long history of championing recycling and composting programs, but it has a long way to go. Thanks to the efforts of Sen. Murphy and the other co-sponsors of SB 85, we can continue to make progress in reducing the amount of valuable materials that take up the dwindling space in the state’s landfills.”