Legislators decide to take the bottle bill amendment — which would expand the kinds of bottles that can be recycled for cash — out of the jobs act.
The bottle bill will not make it to the governor's desk this year. The controversial proposal was included as an amendment to the Senate jobs bill but scrapped Monday in conference committee, according to an aide to its sponsor, Sen. Robert Hedlund (R-Weymouth). The jobs bill is expected to be laid before Gov. Deval Patrick Tuesday, the last day of the legislative session. The amendment had faced strong opposition in the House, with Speaker Robert DeLeo describing it as a tax. Hedlund disputed this view, saying that taxes can't be redeemed. The expansion to the 31-year-old law designed to promote recycling and reduce litter would have added plastic bottles used for water, juices, iced tea and sports drinks to the list of containers …
Included as an amendment to a bigger jobs bill, the update would expand the bottle redemption law to include plastic bottles used for water and juice.
The redemption center at Blanchards could get a lot busier if a bill to put deposits on more types of bottles finally becomes law. House and Senate leaders started debating Wednesday whether to include an expanded bottle deposit amendment in a bill designed to spur job creation. The bill was passed in the Senate Thursday and is now being hashed out in a conference committee comprised of members of both chambers. Gov. Deval Patrick has said that he supports it. But the House has fought passage of an expanded bottle bill, which Speaker Robert DeLeo and others in the House view as a tax. But Sen. Robert Hedlund disputes this view, saying that taxes can't be redeemed. The expansion to the 31-year-old law designed to promote recycling and …
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9:15 am on Monday, July 30, 2012
It's time to eliminate the arbitrary distinction between carbonated and non-beverages. I'm a walker, and and most of the trash I see littering our city streets is empty bottles and cans. (Most of the rest is fast food and cigarette packaging.) This bill will encourage recycling, and I hope it finally passes. more ›
Rich P
8:39 pm on Wednesday, August 1, 2012
a shame, it should sail through. Why would anyone want to exclude a 'class' of bottles. All bottles are a trash blight and the more 'classes' of bottles we include, the cleaner the state will be. more ›