Let Industry Take Lead On Recycling
FLYNN
Exercising common sense, our lawmakers on Beacon Hill have chosen to be supportive of our state's businesses and our environment. Last month, the state's Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy voted against moving forward with efforts to expand the state's bottle bill. While this is good news for bottlers, grocers and consumers, it's also excellent news for the future of recycling in our state.
An expanded bottle bill is bad policy for many reasons. This legislation would add a 5-cent fee to bottled water, juice, iced tea and sports drinks — on top of the 5-cent fee we currently pay for beer and soda — while forcing grocers to act as redemption centers and collect bottles and cans in their stores. The latter task leads to even greater burdens and overhead costs that can easily trickle down to consumers. When price hikes are combined with burdens on bottlers and retailers, an expansion of the bottle law could result in an extra $58 million that families spend on groceries.
This legislation costs too much for the little return on recycling progress. An expanded bottle bill would increase the state's recycling rate by only 0.12 percent. Today, communities across the state offer municipal recycling that's far more convenient than counting bottles and cans. Massachusetts still needs to improve recycling, but not by building on an outdated policy.
For these reasons, the Massachusetts Food Association last year joined businesses, citizens, unions and other trade associations as part of the Real Recycling for Massachusetts coalition. This organization voiced concerns about the cost and ineffectiveness of bottle law expansion, and we advocated for better, more convenient recycling solutions.
All along, our state's food and beverage companies have stated their commitment to finding recycling solutions that work, and are following through on that promise and working to create the kind of recycling solutions our state needs.
It is for this reason that Massachusetts beverage and grocery companies have launched the Massachusetts Recycling Challenge. In this two-year, $533,000 initiative, pilot programs will be launched in target communities across the state looking to improve recycling. Through this initiative, we will establish an entity to aid communities in instituting "Pay As You Throw" recycling systems, which have proven extraordinarily effective. We will also work within communities to increase the presence of "on the go" receptacles to encourage recycling in public places.
The Massachusetts food and beverage industries are committed to being leaders in increasing recycling and setting the stage for real recycling progress. We're helping communities adopt comprehensive, convenient and effective recycling systems that have the potential for long-term impact. We look forward to the recycling improvements this initiative will bring, and are hopeful it can mark the beginning of real, meaningful recycling reform in our state.
Chris Flynn is president of the Massachusetts Food Association, which represents the state's supermarket and grocery industry.
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