| DEFENDING "Lawsuit Filed Against N.Y. Bottle Bill" by Lori Brown@Earth911 On May 18th, a formal lawsuit was filed challenging the constitutionality of the expanded New York “Bottle Bill,” scheduled to take effect next month. The lawsuit was filed by the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA), Nestle Waters North America (NWNA) and Polar Beverages in an effort to reform the labeling requirement associated with the legislation. Environmental advocate, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., owner of bottled water company Keeper Springs, has also signed an affidavit in support of the lawsuit.  Opponents of the Bottle Bill expansion have concerns over labeling requirements, compliance deadlines and exemptions to certain bottled drink manufacturers. Photo: IBWA The Returnable Container Act (RCA), referred to as the Bottle Bill, was originally passed in 1982 to encourage recycling and reduce litter and waste associated with bottles. It requires a five cent deposit when purchasing certain bottled beverages, a deposit that consumers could be refunded by returning empty bottles to retailers. The expansion of the existing bottle deposit law would require bottled water companies to affix a UPC bar code to bottles sold in New York, which the filing parties argue impedes interstate commerce as the bottles would be permitted from sale in other states. Plaintiffs also argue that the new Bottle Bill exempts bottled water products to which sugar has been added, such as sport drinks, violating the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. In a statement released on Tuesday, IBWA expressed its concern for the amount of time given to comply with new regulations. The new Bottle Bill, set to take effect June 1, provides less than 60 days for bottled water companies to comply with the new labeling requirements. The original law, according to IBWA, provided soft drink and beer industries 15 months to comply. “We would prefer that the legislature fix these problems, but the deadline is fast approaching and we need to ensure that we will still be able to provide bottled water to our customers,” said Nestle Waters CEO Kim Jeffrey. “All over the country, there are good examples of bottle bills that work for consumers and for the environment. We don’t need to settle for one that discourages both healthy choices and environmental stewardship.”  Lori Brown Lori Brown is a staff member of Earth911. "The Bigger Better Bottle Bill" ALBANY REDEEMS SELF WITH BOTTLE BILL! April 6, 2009 Broad Channel, NY: The American Littoral Society joins other environmental groups in enthusiastically applauding passage by the New York State Legislature of the Bigger Better Bottle Bill as part of the state’s 2009-2010 budget! This momentous environmental achievement is the first major overhaul of the state’s Bottle Bill since it was created in 1982, and caps a grueling 7 year campaign to expand and update the law. The new law expands the state’s nickel deposit law on beer and soda containers to include water bottles. New York’s Bottle Bill was enacted in 1982, long before bottled water became popular. But since the mid-1990s, bottled water sales have grown astronomically. Between 1997 and 2006, sales of bottled water nationwide soared from about 3 billion20to nearly 36 billion containers. In 2006, according to the Container Recycling=2 0Institute (CRI), more than 3.2 billion water bottles were sold in New York State alone – nearly a quarter of the state’s beverage market. Without a deposit, most of these containers end up in the trash or polluting our communities. Water bottles are one of the most common items found in litter cleanups in New York. Expanding the bottle law to include water bottles will result in dramatic increases in recycling and noticeable reductions in beverage container litter. “This is a tremendous environmental victory which will make our communities cleaner, expand recycling, and generate new revenue for the state,” said Barbara Toborg, Conservation Coordinator of the Littoral Society. “During New York beach cleanups organized by our society as part of the International Coastal Cleanup, our volunteers documented that non-carbonated beverage containers were found twice as often as those with a deposit, and most of the containers were water bottles. I want to thank all Littoral Society members and site captains who lobbied for the Bigger Better Bottle Bill. Without their help, the bill would not have been passed.” The Littoral Society has been a member of the Bigger Better Bottle Bill Coalition most ably led by Laura Haight of the NY Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG). Praised were Governor David Paterson for his strong leadership and initiative, fulfilling a promise he made to environmental groups at Earth Day Lobby Day last April; Speaker Sheldon Silver, Assemblyman Bob Sweeney and members of the Assembly, for their leadership and perseverance on this measure which the Assembly has passed every year since 2005; and Majority Leader Malcolm Smith, Senator Antoine Thompson and members of the Senate majority, without whose leadership and commitment to forging an agreement we would not be here today celebrating this momentous breakthrough. The budget accomplishes w hat more than twenty years of previous efforts have failed to do – it would require beverage companies to transfer a portion (80%) of the unclaimed bottle and can deposits they collect to the state. The beer and soda companies have retained more than two billion dollars in unclaimed deposits since 1982 when the law was enacted. This legislation brings New York into line with other states, such as Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, Hawaii, and most recently Connecticut, which already escheat unclaimed beverage container deposits. This measure will generate more than $115 million annually to the state’s General Fund. Finally, by increasing the handling fee from 2 cents to 3.5 cents – the first increase since 1997 – the proposal will more fairly compensate retailers for their costs of collecting, sorting, and recycling bottles and cans, and will provide incentives for new redemption centers to open across the state and existing redemption centers to expand. These small businesses and nonprofits have been closing down at an alarming rate because they cannot survive on the current handling fee. Increasing the handling=2 0fee to 3.5 cents essentially keeps pace with inflation – the original handlin g fee in 1983 was set at 1.5 cents per container. Redemption centers will not only be able to create new “green” jobs but can also help serve the needs of people who return large quantities of bottles and cans, and under this measure will allow smaller stores to take back fewer containers. Looking forward to finding no water bottles! "Ballast Water Bill" The ballast water permitting issue is contained on news board web sites of the National marine Manufacturers Association(NMMA) and Boat US. The NMMA is leading a coalition of boating and outdoor recreation partners to mobilize the boating community on the ballast water jobs. The NMMA is urging every boater and anyone employed in the boating industry to visit www.boatblue.org. The ballast water permitting issue presents a complex, costly and unnecessary permitting scheme to the recreational boater. Federal courts have directed the United States Environmental Protection Agency to implement across the board Clean Water Act) provision and National Pollution Discharge Elimination (CWASystem.(NPDES) permitting for all vessels from outboards to cargo ships The United States Power Squadron opposes a blanket characterization of all vessels and urges the federal government to exercise restraint and reason by exempting small recreational watercraft fron NPDES permits not currently required of vessels regulated by yhe U.S. Coast Guard. USPS recommends implementing a national, environmentally- responsible program of manufacturing and operation standards for recreational vessels with the need for individual permitting. Take action and write to your Senators and Representative. U.S. House of Representatives Washington,DC 20515. | | PROTECTING "New York City Passes Plastic Bag Recycling Bill" New York City took a giant step forward in the fight against plastic. New York's City Council passed a bill requiring large stores and retail chains to collect and recycle plastic shopping bags. According to a "New York Times Report": "New York is by far the largest American city to enact so broad a measure to limit the environmental impact of the bags. Altogether, each year the country is estimated to use 86 billion bags, which end up blowing down city streets, or tangled in the stomach of whales, sea turtles and birds, or buried in landfills where they enjoy free rent for 1,000 years." Other cities like Melbourne and San Francisco have banned bags outright. San Francisco was the first city in North America to ban non-recyclable and non-biodegradable bags made from petroleum products. Africa has moved toward a continent-wide plastic bag ban, and China's cabinet issued a directive banning their production, prohibiting stores from handing out free plastic bags after June 1st and imposing fees on their usage People in China use up to 3 billion plastic bags daily! Please help keep the momentum going, just say "NO" to plastic bags! | | INFORMING Invasive Species Alert "Beware of the Mitten Crab" "The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center" , an east coast state environmental agencies, have issued alerts for the Chinese Mitten Crab, a highly invasive species from China that has recently been spotted in the Delaware Bay, the Chesapeake in Maryland and in the Hudson River. The mitten crab got its name because its claws are adorned with soft britles that look like furry mittens. This crab spends most of its life in rivers and then travels out to sea to spawn and die. It burrows along river banks, causing erosion and collapse of the banks and rivers. If you catch a mitten crab: Don't throw back alive. Freeze it, keep it on ice or perserve it in rubbing alcohol (as a last resort). Note the precise location and date where the animal was found. Please take a close up photo of the crab and email to: SERCMittenCrab@si.edu for preliminary identification. If you can not take a photo, contact the mitten crab hotline at: 443-482-2222. "OCEANS-21" According to the Ocean Conservancy, a positive vote from a key subcommittee is expected very soon on the OCEANS-21 bill. What is OCEANS-21? As the President of the Ocean Conservancy, Vikki Spruill said: "The OCEANS-21 Act unifies ocean management under a national policy to protect, maintain, and restore marine ecosystem health, and would include provisions to help ensure that all decisions affecting our ocean are consistent with that policy. In addition, the bill streamlines and elevates federal oversight and decision making with respect to ocean policy by strengthening the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA, our nations lead civilian oceans agency), improving executive coordiantion, and enhancing regional efforts with joint federal-state ocean management partnerships." What is OCEANS-21? Specifically, OCEANS-21: - Establishes a national policy "to protect, maintain, and restore the health of marine ecosystems" and national standards for implementing the policy to ensure that federal agency actions are consistent with the policy. - Strengthens the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) by giving the Administrator increased authority in budget and personnel decisions; directing the agency to carry out the national ocean policy using ecosystem-based management approaches; and providing for proper budget review within natural resource programs at the Office of Management and Budget. - Improves executive coordination by establishing a National Oceans Advisor to the President and a cabinet-level Committee on Ocean Policy to harmonize federal activities relating to ocean health. - Enhances regional efforts by establishing nine federal-state regional ocean partnership entities to develop and implement Regional Ocean Strategic Plans. - Provides $1.3 billion annually from general revenue to develop and implement the Regional Ocean Strategic Plans. Please contact your representative and urge them to vote "yes" on OCEANS-21 and to oppose any amendments that would weaken this carefully crafted and balanced bill. | |