A Bottle Bill That Will Rot Your Teeth

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a New York Times Op-Ed contributor, recently wrote an article on the topic of new bottle deposit laws. The article, titled “A Bottle Bill That Will Rot Your Teeth”, focuses on a bottle law that was passed by the New York Legislature last month. Kennedy writes that because the average person throws away almost 300 pounds of packaging every year, New York’s bottle deposit law must be updated to cover beverages like tea and bottled water. A good deposit bill has the opportunity to encourage recycling of new types of beverage bottles. This in turn could provide financing for curbside programs that collect other types of recyclable materials. In Kennedy’s mind, the law passed by the New York Legislature fails to accomplish recycling goals and will ultimately harm the existing recycling programs in New York. Governor David Paterson originally proposed a law that required deposits for the new beverage categories, but the new bottle law only covers bottled water. The Legislature excluded all noncarbonated beverages containing sugar from the deposit law meaning consumers are expected to pay more for healthier drinks than they are for sugar-filled drinks. Kennedy is “committed to achieving zero waste through recycling. To get there we need bottle deposit laws that require all beverage makers to take responsibility for reaching the highest possible levels of recycling.”

In his article, Kennedy uses other bottle laws to support his argument that New York’s bottle law needs to be changed. Oregon was the first state to implement a bottle deposit law in an effort to reduce litter from single-serving containers. California’s bottle law applies to more beverage types and helps finance curbside recycling for almost every household. As an avid water drinker, I completely agree with Robert Kennedy and his opinions on recycling in his article. People should feel that it is their civic duty to recycle and help the environment. New York’s law undermines recycling programs and that is unacceptable. I see eye to eye with Kennedy when he says “the law is a boondoggle that will give sugared beverage producers an unfair market advantage while undermining convenient recycling programs. Governor Paterson and the Legislature should trash it and get to work on the bigger and better bottle bill that New York deserves.” These new bottle deposit laws need to encourage people to recycle all types of bottles and containers and, additionally, provide financing for curbside recycling.